Good Company
by squeekness
Summary: Kimble gets to know his Siskan kin a little better. Part six of the Game.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Kimble gets to know his Siskan kin a little better. Part six of the Game.

Rated M for profanity, violence and some sexual content.

Disclaimer : I do not own the X-men or any of their associated villains, but the Siskans, the Dognan, Jael and the Outkasts are mine. Please do not use them without my permission. Thanks. :)

Art for Reunion has been added to my webpage if any one is interested in looking at it.

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(One)

_Well of course my vow never to sleep again didn't hold, how could it? I might be inorganic but I still have needs. I eat, I breathe, I drink and I must sleep. I did my very best but the longer I went without sleep the more incorrigible and violent I became. My Master finally lost all patience and was forced to drug me. It wasn't a waste -- I learned that with the tonics he prepared for me, I could sleep without dreaming. _

_Babette came to me and tried to comfort me and she is a dear. She stayed with me for the next few days, loving me, caring for me, as I was too distressed to even leave my bed. _

_I hadn't yet found the courage to leave my bed when my Master came and stood over me, saying very gently, "We are leaving for Earth 618 in a few days. You may remain here if you like, but I am hoping very much that you will come with me as I have grown very fond of you. It would be a shame to leave you behind and I would be greatly saddened."_

_He then left me with a series of photographs of the home he was planning to inhabit. It came as no surprise to me that it was the large Plantation house I had seen in my vision. As I looked upon these photos I was overcome with a sudden desire to return to my black room and confront that window again. The truth is I'm a stubborn fuck, a title well deserved. As much as I hate to be controlled, I hate being afraid even more. Terrified as I was to go through that dreadful blur of images again, I couldn't deny the compulsion. I wanted to face my fear so it would no longer hold me back. I knew there was a message there in the vision, but what it was I had yet to discover. I certainly wasn't going to find out by being afraid._

_So I tried my best to fall asleep without the tonics and found that it was surprisingly easy. My body was starving for it, for the release of dreamland. I soon fell asleep and found my wooden door in a matter of moments and walked through it._

_The darkness came and so did my window. It shimmered first grey and then grew to the size of the wall again before it showed me the Plantation house once more. Just as I had hoped, the blue shimmering double arrow faithfully reappeared, offering me my choice of paths as it had before. This time, I closed my eyes and walked through._

_There were no monsters coming to get me with their fur and claws and fangs, or whips or beatings, or shoutings with angry, hateful words. Instead, warm tropical air greeted me, filled with the heady scent of magnolias and jasmine. The grass was lush and sweet, the house lit up with lights and laughter. _

"_You will be happy here, Dreamer," the voices whispered to me, even out here on the grass, and I knew it would be true. I would depart with my Master. I had made the right decision. _

_This was only the first in a long series of visions I would have. They came the same way, a snapshot scene of something yet to come that would be followed by those shimmering blue arrows offering different paths. Most often I took the right path, sometimes not. When I did not, I was "corrected" by the blurry vision of horror and trauma. It had a positive effect on me, I rarely made the same mistake twice. Sometimes, though, in spite of my fear, I was forced to take a path I would rather not have taken. Even to this day and for reasons that still have not been explained to me, I was shown that to refuse would lead only to destruction and death. _

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Aiden jerked awake from another blurry nightmare, his body slick with sweat and the scream dying in his throat as he had trained himself to do. Not that he had any need to maintain his silence, David was gone and no longer beside him to be troubled by a rude awakening. No, the child was in a place much better than this one, one where swords and pain could no longer reach him. At least that what the Dreamer told himself to try and assuage the guilt he felt for having failed him.

Aiden rose carefully, trying not to disturb the body of his sister who lay next to him. It was late at night now, almost morning of his second day in this strange new place. Earlier, he had crawled into bed with Babette, still trying to do his best to comfort her as much as possible. She had stopped crying, but was still so sad and hardly speaking. It was all Aiden could do to coax her to eat or drink anything.

Kimble had joined them later, happy after his visit with Angel. There wasn't much to do in the Lab and Kimble hadn't wanted to be bored and alone. He, too, felt a desire to ease Babette's suffering and so offered his presence as medicine, telling her playful jokes to make her laugh until they had all fallen asleep together in a happy little tangle on her bed. Aiden was glad to have him so close, though he could sense the discomfort of the human guards around them. The three Siskans had done nothing more than pile together for warmth and security, but such a display of childish intimacy disturbed the humans around them, the ugly, simpleminded **Chuckfet** that they were.

Awake now from his nightmare, Aiden slipped away, heading for the small bathroom that was close by Babette's bed. He hadn't wanted to go far from her but he had to be alone, he had to find someplace small and quiet, private. He had to unload some of the storm he was feeling inside, the turmoil left over from such a horrible dream. He entered the room and set the lock before collapsing into a corner near the sink to cry.

_It will be okay,_ Talalanay said, coming close to touch and soothe with his tiny ghostly hands.

Aiden had never heard the voices as Kimble did, no, his damage had been far too severe. He did not possess the same sort of Black Room as Kimble did, a separate place for those personalities to exist and see each other all at once. When he had shattered, he saw his fractured personalities as ghosts, vaporous images that followed him about in this world, chattering away and driving him insane. No one could see or hear them but himself and it had gotten him into trouble more than once. He'd have conversations aloud to people no one else could see and the folks around him thought him crazy, too damaged to ever be fully repaired. It wasn't true -- he'd received help for his condition, but two of his collection of personalities remained to haunt him to this day. They had been much too powerful to lie quiet forever and resisted the forces that had tried to shut them down. Because of all the repairs that had been done to Aiden, they weren't very strong now, just capable of popping out to speak their minds when they felt he needed it.

"I'm okay, leetle one," Aiden replied through his tears, trying to be as brave as he could. Talalanay was a child, the First Born. He looked no more than ten, possessing the original skin Quishnalay had placed them in when they were made. He was dressed in the soft leather of Siska, clothing from home. He was tiny and fragile, very sympathetic, and he was the one who offered comfort when the Dreamer was troubled. Aiden felt protective of him and hid away his feelings of despair, not wanting to disturb the child.

_You're not a very good liar, Dreamer. _

This was not the boy who had spoken. Where there was one ghost, there was often the other. This second spirit had no real name and because of his paternal attitude, Aiden called him Father. Father was older, stronger and far more opinionated. He always had the goal in mind and was the one who pushed the Dreamer to get the job done, whatever it was. His ghostly image was that of an older, wiser man. Ever the adapter, Father's appearance often changed. He liked to imitate those around him and so today he had dressed himself in the clothing of the alphas here. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans, a close approximation of an X-man uniform without the badges. Never fearful and always comfortable, he was seated casually on the floor, his back to the door in an easy slouch, one hand draped over his knee. He was bearded and headstrong, driven more by a strong sense of survival than heartfelt emotion. He was the protective force behind their strange little family, the one who had gotten them out of all their scrapes and bad situations. If not for Father, they would have been dead or insane beyond reckoning long ago.

_Why are you so frightened? It was just a dream,_ Father questioned, his voice a little condescending. It wasn't like this didn't happen to them all the time. You'd think the Dreamer might be used to it by now.

"Ze war is coming and Aiden muszt choosze. 'Ow 'is 'e szuppozted to know ze right way to go what to do when 'e don' know what'sz going to 'appen?" Aiden sobbed. In all of his dreams there had been paths, offerings of choices to be made. He was not longer frightened of the visions themselves, only of taking the wrong path and destroying all he had come to love.

_The dream is just beginning. You worry too much, _Father was chiding him,_ Watch, listen, learn. You will know what you have to do when the time comes. You're stronger than this. Get up._

Aiden shuddered an emotional denial and pushed himself further into the corner, trying to get as small as possible. He resented the fact that he had to dream the future, that he had to see those horrible visions of death and dying. Like all Siskans, these things upset him and sometimes made him feel physically ill. It was becoming rare these days for a premonition to be pleasant and he was wearing thin. The strain of losing his Master and his place of security was breaking him down. The nightmare and his strange new surroundings hadn't helped.

There was a knock on the door and a voice but Aiden ignored it, unsure if it was real. Sometimes when Talalanay and Father were around, things got a little dreamy and strange. A mere moment later and a warm hand brushed his shoulder, confirming that he was no longer alone. "You okay, Aiden?"

It was Kimble and Aiden couldn't help but turn and look at him. The ghosts of his former selves were wisping about, disturbed by Kimble's passage through the room. They were breaking away, unseen by the pilot, and Aiden automatically reached out for the nearest form of comfort. He spilled into Kimble's eager arms, still sobbing lightly.

"It's all right," Kimble was saying. The door had been locked but the pilot was worried enough about him to use his telekinetic power to come in anyway. "Didja haves a bad dream?"

"Yesz. Many bad dreamsz Aiden 'asz!"

Kimble squeezed him tightly. "It's okay. I hates bein' in strange places, too."

Aiden smiled, calming some at that. Kimble didn't fully understand, but was doing his best to soothe and the Dreamer wasn't about to stop him. Besides, he'd just become aware that the two of them were completely alone for perhaps the first time since they'd met. He sat back a bit, pleased when Kimble automatically reached out to clear his cheeks of tears. "Don' be scared," the pilot whispered and gently brushed his lips with his own.

Aiden accepted the kiss, but took more, opening his mouth to deepen the kiss and change it from comforting to something far more potent. He couldn't believe that Kimble was really here, that the creature who had so haunted his dreams -- the few pleasant ones -- was actually here to be touched and tasted. It was one thing to carry around an image on photo paper, quite another to have the living, breathing real thing right here, right now. Suddenly feeling much, much better, he came forward and possessively took control, plundering Kimble's mouth and carefully coaxing him to lie back on the floor.

Given a choice, Aiden would always prefer to serve his own kind rather than a** Chuckfet** client. He thrived on the exchange of Kundatesh that only a Lushna-esk 'gram could provide, it was lovemaking on a whole other scale and far more fulfilling. The fact that Kimble was even more than that, a Kintay du Lushna-esk like himself with a more potent Kundatesh, made the desire to play all the more tempting. Aiden was emboldened when the pilot not only offered no resistance to his seduction, but whimpered softly in surrender, a sound that ripped right through him like a tornado through a straw house.

Aiden almost went crazy with mad desire, it took all of his will to control the urge to just ravage the offering before him. He'd foreseen that Kimble would be his, had known it the first time he'd laid eyes on the pilot for real. But he had to remind himself now not to go too far so soon. He knew better than to abandon himself to lust, he'd never actually seen their first lovemaking in a dream, but had an idea that coupling madly on this cold bathroom floor hadn't been it. He wanted to give the best of himself to Kimble, to impress and show him that no one else could do what he could, that anything other than being with the Dreamer would never completely satisfy.

Kimble seemed to sense it, that there was more to Aiden's desire than wanting a quick fuck. There were questioning whimpers mixed in with Kimble's sounds of pleasure, he was confused. He had kissed Aiden initially as an innocent offering of comfort and hadn't expected this bewildering turn of events. The kiss between them now was a far more than the simple gesture of inquiry they had shared out on the tarmac the previous morning. It reflected their mutual curiosity and attraction to one another and was a searing thing, melting them both into one creature, a thing born of more than simple animal need and desire. Its intensity confused and frightened Kimble a little. It came out in his shine, something the Dreamer could see.

"Shhh..." Aiden whispered, finally coming up for air. He was trembling with excitement, but the pilot was quaking below him, his body hard with an arousal impossible to deny. "Relax, preciousz. Shhh."

"No, don' stops...please!" Kimble whimpered, writhing against Aiden with unabashed desire. He was overcome with want, his inner turmoil seeking the release of a good tumble, the unsettling vibrations from Aiden easily ignored. This would make Kimble forget that he had killed, that he was a prisoner here, that Angel wasn't truly his anymore, not like she had been before things got all so horribly screwed up.

Aiden sensed all that in a heartbeat, his preternatural senses reading the pilot like an open book. It wasn't entirely what he had wanted. He hadn't desired to be a placebo for what was ailing this Siskan, he wanted Kimble to want him for who he was, what he was. It was enough to halt his urgency, enough to allow him to catch his breath and take stock of the situation. He wanted Kimble to want Aiden, Aiden and no one else when they broke down and let the inevitable take them. He opened his mouth to make an excuse for a temporary postponement when the consequences of being a prisoner caught up with them first.

There was a loud thump on the door. "What're you guys doin' in there?"

It seemed the sentry Logan had posted had finally caught on that they had been in here just a little too long. Aiden had only just started to retreat and let Kimble up when the door opened, the guard losing all patience.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Max complained, no embarrassment there, only disgust. He hadn't forgotten the way Aiden had looked at him back at the Mansion and all of his preconceived notions of Aiden's sexual orientation were confirmed by what he was looking at now. The pilot was still on the floor, his clothing all pushed back and rumpled, the signs of his arousal pathetically obvious. Wolverine's orders had been pretty specific, "Don't let them out of your sight", but this was more than Max had in mind to watch.

Kimble scrambled to his feet quickly, his shine swirling rapidly from lustful need to horrified embarrassment. They had been seen! He was sure to be talked about now, stared at like a freak. He'd never been accepted for being sexually open, never in the whole time he'd lived here with these alphas. It hadn't happened before and it wasn't going to happen now, judging by the look on Max's face. He found his feet and shuffled back, his head down with his eyes turned away. His hands were clenched at his lap in a feeble attempt to deny the raging hard-on that Aiden had given him. He didn't dare meet Max's gaze, but stood in a submissive slouch, his wings slumped below his shoulders.

Aiden made no such movements. He stood up, sure, but his chin was high and his eyes defiant. His clothing was sturdy denim and not so revealing as Kimble's sweatpants but he cared not a whit. What was left of his own arousal remained as it was -- unhidden. "Well, well, well. It'sz our leetle shadow. Leetle shadow, you lonely, eh? Muszt be, to be watching usz szo closze. Care to join usz?"

"Fuck you. Get back to bed!" Max snapped, shaking with rage at the suggestion.

Kimble didn't need to be asked twice, he knew his place. He fled, leaving Aiden behind with nary a glance. The Dreamer watched him go, a furious sneer on his face. He could see Kimble's humiliation and shame and knew that Max was to blame for it, not his own actions. So this was how it was here. How typical of the **Chuckfet**. How very typical.

The Siskan holograms had been created to provide sexual services willingly and freely to their Masters and clients. That desire was interwoven into their psyche to make them compliant and unresistant. Aiden thought it was ironically funny how it was that that built in promiscuity was perfectly fine when the **Chuckfet **wanted to play by their rules, when they wanted to be served, but when the Siskans wanted to initiate and play on their own, it was considered perverse. He'd seen this time and time again and all it had done was widen the gap between himself and them, separating them forever.

Aiden started to speak his mind, to say something he was sure to regret, when Father materialized in front of Max, there for only the Dreamer's eyes to see. _Shut your mouth, kid. Back off and just do what he says. You just got here, dumbass! Tell me you are not this stupid!_

"**_Szpoilszport," _**Aiden chided him aloud in the Muzla tongue so that Max would not understand. **_"It wasz too nize a kissz to be ruined wit'out an inszult in return."_**

Father was quick to respond, _You'll get plenty more kisses where that one came from, knowing you. Save your cracks for another time. Do as this jerk says and get moving. Besides, you've left Babette for too long. So selfish of you, to neglect your sister for your own pleasure!_

"What's your problem?" Max asked, none too gently. He was insulted that Aiden had garbled nonsense at him and then blanked out as if he wasn't even there. He of course had no idea that to the Dreamer, they were not really alone.

Aiden refused to reply to Max's harsh tone and pushed by him instead, rudely shoving him out of his way. He was upset by his dream, of being interrupted with Kimble, and by Father's scathing comments. Neglect his sister? He'd done all he could to watch over her, surely he was entitled to some pleasure, however fleeting! He returned to the bed to find his sister still sound asleep. Henry had taken pity on her and given her a tonic, she was out cold and still in the same position she'd been in when he'd left.

Kimble, however was gone. One quick glance showed a soft blue light on in the adjacent testing room. The Lab was large and had several rooms adjoining it. Most of these places were denied to the newcomers, but this side room was open to them. It had computers in there that the Siskans could use to play games. Kimble had turned one on, looking for any excuse to be doing something somewhere else. There were two sentries posted in the Med Lab at all times and Max's companion had moved to stand in the doorway, looking in at whatever Kimble was now doing.

Aiden grumbled and returned to the bed, crawling in beside Babette and pulling her into his arms. She mumbled something incoherent at him and folded into his embrace, smiling now in her sleep. He relaxed, pretending to fall asleep for the benefit of Max who had gone back to his chair, but his eyes were ever fixed on the glowing blue light of the other room.

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Kimble had fled to the testing room, horrified that he and Aiden had been discovered fooling around like that. There was no way he could return to Babette's bed so he'd gone in here instead, turning on a computer as an excuse to be here. He was shaking with the humiliation of being caught in such a compromising position but damn if he wasn't aroused beyond belief from that kiss.

He closed his eyes against the light of the computer screen, his head down slightly as he savored the memory of that brief connection. So long it had been since he was decently kissed, the only one to set him on fire as quickly as that was Remy and the thief could no longer be his. Maybe all that didn't matter any more.

**_Cain't haves no lover fer real,_** tiny Lin whispered from within, his soft Siskan voice too strong for Kimble to ignore.

"I don' hears you no more," Kimble replied, his voice too low for the guard outside to hear. He had to be stronger than the voices. He couldn't let them gain enough power to overthrow him as they had before. It was bad enough that Zander had popped out that one time, he wasn't about to allow any further mutinies. Angel was much too precious for him to lose permanently.

Kimble loosed his long hair and brushed a hand through it, trying to get back to remembering that kiss. He thrived on intimacy, needed to be loved so very much. Just the same, there was something different about Aiden's touch. Aiden made him feel pretty, made him feel good about himself in a positive way. Kimble couldn't explain why the vibrations he felt from Aiden reminded him of the same vibrations of love he'd felt from Remy and once long ago, from Sheyman, the man he believed to be his creator. He and Aiden had only just met and there hadn't been time for anything so pure to be developed. Aiden was trying to hold it back and Kimble figured that perhaps Aiden was simply just prone to over emotion, the way he himself wasn't entirely in control. Living with humans had forced Kimble to modify his own behavior, to squash urges that had once been as natural as breathing. Maybe Aiden was like him, always struggling to do the appropriate thing. It was true he did not know Aiden well.

It had been a long, strange day. The powers that be had gotten together and decided that Babette and Aiden were to be confined to Med Bay indefinitely while Logan continued his investigation into Trishnar's murder. The team in New Orleans still needed more time to finish the job, a few more days at least would be required. No one thought the Siskans were to blame for Trishnar's demise, they just wanted to be sure if it was Jael playing the Game. As Jael made his way through the opposition, he was getting that much closer to them.

Henry was all right with his Lab now being occupied by these strange creatures. He was fond of Seth and Kimble and was eager to learn more about these Siskans as possible. It intrigued him to see Siskans that had lived away from Fallen and Remy, Siskans who's behaviors could give him insight into Kimble's struggles. Maybe he could even find a little help there.

Beast made them as comfortable as possible, he had wanted to be sure Aiden was healing from his injuries and do a medical scan like he did for all the new arrivals. He brought them food and drinks and made sure the power cubes were in easy reach. He brought them books and games, knowing from experience that they would need to be entertained.

Beast had other reasons for wanting Aiden nearby. He was worried about Babette and her fragile state of mind. Henry had lots of responsibilities and wouldn't always be on hand to assist. He need not have worried, Aiden fussed over her and saw to her every need. Babette wasn't recovering well from the shock of David's death and refused to leave her bed. She had to be pressured to charge with the power cubes and wanted only to be held. Aiden spent most of the day at her side, just wrapping her up in his arms and singing to her softly.

Just for precaution, both Aiden and Babette were outfitted with the same special tracking device that Kimble was. At first Aiden put up a bit of a fuss, seeing it as entrapment, but Remy managed to convince him that it was for the best. No one knew what the future held and it was important to know where they all were at any time. The locators of all the Siskans, Kimble included, were set against the Lab security boxes and would go off if any of them tried to leave the area without an escort. The devices weren't restraints, they couldn't stop an escape, only report it, and Wolverine insisted that Kimble and Aiden would be under close surveillance in the lab and while topside, the only two places they were allowed to be. Since Babette could use the cubes, she stayed behind in the Lab. She was still too melancholy to leave anyway and didn't complain.

Really, Kimble had more of an incentive now to stay in the lab than to leave it. He was simply enjoying the company of his two new Siskan companions far too much. Kimble and Aiden had enjoyed the time free of responsibilities and made the most of it. When Aiden wasn't caring for Babette they played cards, fooling around and getting to know each other. They were fast becoming inseparable and Kimble found himself following Aiden around like a puppy, even climbing into Babette's bed with him when Aiden wanted to be there.

Aiden didn't argue at being confined to one or two rooms, he just did as he was told and was cooperating to keep the peace. Of course, having Kimble's company was a pleasure. He wasn't going to be bored with a new friend to explore and learn so much about.

Back in the testing room, Kimble sat quietly, brushing his fingers across his lips now, that kiss still burning there. Was it really so bad to want Aiden? To use him to kill the time and dull the pain of confinement?

_Nope,_ came a reply from within. It was Zander this time, his voice more powerful than Lin's. _Do what ya want with him, he makes ya feel happy. Happy and strong like ya should be. Who cares what anyone thinks? Cain't please them nohow, no matter what ya do, theys always criticizin'. Fuck 'em all._ _'Sides, no one said that if ya fuck him, that it means yer gitten married, fer pity's sake._ _Whatever happened ta jus' havin' a good time?_

Kimble smiled then, happy to hear some good news from the Punisher instead of his usual badgering. _Yer right. I kin play, jus' that it don' hafta be serious. He's a Siskan, he gots ta understand. Why would he wants ta stay with me nohow, he could have anabody. He jus' wants ta play with me fer now cuz I'm new. That's it. It's cuz I'm new. We'll fuck an' he'll move on an' it will all be safe. Safe._

The thoughts warmed him, and Kimble relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. It was stupid to always think about permanent things. He of all people knew just how temporary everything was. He could have his fun and walk away.


	2. Chapter 2

(Two)

The next couple of days went by quietly in the Lab. The Siskans all settled in and found their routines. Kimble had been just as fascinated by Babette as he had been Aiden, and tried to spend as much time with her as Aiden, not wanting her to be jealous of his distraction. It didn't take Kimble long to realize that she was deeply devastated inside at the loss of both her Master and her angel and needed constant comfort and care. He was naturally helpful and tried his best to comfort her, but was at a loss. She didn't mind when he climbed in bed with her and Aiden, in fact she seemed to like him there, mainly because of the happy gleam in Aiden's eyes. She could feel Aiden's growing desire for Kimble and it pleased her to know her companion was fitting in so well. They would all snuggle together under the blankets, Babette in the middle, and nap like children, something that made Beast smile happily every time he saw it.

Babette's persistent melancholy threatened to depress an already unstable Kimble but Aiden wouldn't stand for it. He was very observant of the pilot and took him right under his wing with a kind of brotherly possessiveness. He did not want Kimble to ponder what might happen if Angel were to suffer the same fate as Babette's David. If he saw Kimble sliding down, he was quick to start a game or to joke around. He wanted Kimble's laughter, had grown drunk on it. Kimble was easy to please and it didn't take much for Aiden to start him giggling and playing around.

Henry and Gambit watched all this with fatherly amusement and joked around about it. They could see the growing attraction between the two Siskans and it was fun to watch. The two Siskans followed each other around, playing games and frolicking about, something Kimble hadn't had much desire to do in a long, long time. The pilot was falling in love, something that pleased Remy. Gone were the masochistic mumblings Kimble had uttered, gone was the brooding heaviness behind his eyes. It was as if all memory of the affair with Mary was gone and had never happened. It was never spoken of and Gambit was content with that for the now.

Angel was brought down a couple of times for Kimble to visit with, but she was still kept separate from the other Siskans. Logan insisted on that, he still hadn't liked how Remy had brought the two new Siskans directly down into the secure levels like that. His investigations in New Orleans had turned up very little and he had no reason to suspect treachery on their part towards this child, but he was taking no chances. Angel missed her daddy and Kimble would hold her and cry with happiness at the sight of her. He never wanted to let her go and their partings were painful. She was still under Remy's care and constantly under protective surveillance. It had only been two days since the arrival of these new Siskans, not time enough for security measures to be relaxed.

During the day, Gambit's presence was almost constant in the lab. He volunteered his services as observer of all the Siskans and made sure all was well, bullying his way into the job and accepting no protests about it. If Charles was pissed about all the training classes he was missing, he could give a shit. Remy spent a lot of that time at Babette's side, offering the simple comfort of his presence. It concerned him how she was so listless and wouldn't leave her bed. She did not charge from the sun and so stayed as she was, feeding off of the cubes that Remy was charging for her.

It was the afternoon of the second day when he was sitting on the edge of Babette's bed and took her hand. "How you doin', chere?"

"Been better I have."

"Bien entendu. Dis Gambit can see. Anyt'ing 'e can do fo' you?"

"Worry not for me. Look at them, happy they are," Babette commented, looking across the room to where Kimble and Aiden were currently engrossed in a game of Monopoly. Gambit had brought it down with several others in an attempt to keep the Siskans amused. As much as they played, Aiden was never where he couldn't see Babette or answer her call if she needed anything.

"Dey hit it off pretty quick, dose two."

"Glad am I to see Aiden happy. So long he has been without a new friend."

" 'E always 'ave you, chere."

"Not like this. Aiden's heart, stolen it is."

Remy looked across at them, seeing the truth in their shines. Kimble hadn't been this happy in a long time. His shine was shimmering blue with contentment — he was winning the game, or perhaps Aiden was letting it happen. Either way, Kimble had lost that distant, far away look he'd been having in his eyes. There were no lapses of silence, no brooding. All day long he had laughed. His change in posture and behavior was startling.

"Dis a new improvement or did Aiden get better after I left?" Remy tossed out, thinking how different Aiden was now from the dark and sullen creature he had presented back at the palace. Seven years was long enough for some changes.

"Better he is for coming here. He dreams less."

Remy quirked an eyebrow at that. He'd been hearing that Aiden had had a couple of nightmares already while here in the Lab. "What you mean less?"

Babette shifted nervously, but she had always felt comfortable with him so she replied, "He greatly fears the Game, Aiden does. I think he saw something before we left. Stubborn he was and did not say, but I don't think..."

"Don' t'ink what, chere?" Remy prompted when she dropped off and left that dangling.

"Don't think Jael was a surprise to him, me. I think he tried to warn our Master and that Trishnar did not listen. The pain was deep in Aiden, much anger and pain is there. Less of it now I see, that my brother's mind is elsewhere."

Remy nodded, digesting what she had said. He got the idea she was being very general and not giving him details, but perhaps that could wait for later. Aiden had confessed none of this to Logan in his interview, but then Aiden would not trust the man, they hardly knew each other. Maybe he could get Aiden to talk about it later. Remy decided to let it drop and said, "P'etetre, we seein' a change fo' de better fo' bot' our Siskans, fille. But you, chere? You worry me. Time fo' you to be up an' movin' about."

"Not ready am I. A large place this is. Happy I am to stay in here and watch my Aiden play."

Gambit was silent a moment, taking the time to use his power to read her. He didn't like what he was feeling.**_ / She's hiding something, _**Shi'ow-ri was whispering now.**_ / Her emotions are cloaked, hidden from you. It's best if she is not left alone. I fear she might be a danger to herself. /_**

It was not out of the question for a Siskan to consider suicide, Remy was more than aware that Kimble had contemplated it many a time. Remy made a promise to himself not to leave her alone for too long. Hopefully she would pull out of this if given enough time.

Gambit's inspection was cut short when the Med Bay doors opened and Cyclops and Jean arrived. Aiden and Babette had been here only two days and they had yet to be formally introduced to the senior members of the team. Looked like the time had come for the new arrivals to be inspected.

Gambit rose and walked over to greet his teammates, praying silently for this to go well. He beamed a radiant smile on them, doing his best to charm as he said, "Bonjour, mes amis."

"Heard we had some new arrivals," Scott began, looking about the room with the eyes of a man used to assessing situations and making judgements on how things were going. He noted a pleasantly happy Kimble sitting across Aiden. Everything seemed fine over there, just two kids playing a board game. He hadn't witnessed Kimble's little meltdown with Mary though he had seen pictures. It had been hard to equate the carnage he'd seen with the passive Siskan that had shuffled so submissively around the house. He knew Kimble had a taste for violence but Kimble had always been on the receiving end, not the other way around. Scott had read a report that since Kimble had been placed down here there had been no trouble at all, not even when the strangers had come. Kimble was back to being himself, the monster was sleeping within. Hopefully it would never wake again.

Cyclops frowned slightly when he next took in Babette's poor drawn face and said, "Sorry the introductions have been so late. I hope our guests are all right."

"Oui, dey fine," Gambit replied. This was the first visit by the big brass, the Complex was still under construction and there were many administrative duties that had kept the Professor and Warren away from actually meeting these new Siskans. Charles' compromise was to send his Second instead. Gambit turned to the bed and said, "Dis petite fille is Babette. She one of Trishnar's Siskans from N'awlins. She help me find out about de Games Master. Wit'out 'er, Kimble wouldn't be fixed."

Scott smiled at Babette as they were introduced, all the while biting back the urge to comment, _Who said he was fixed? The guy's still a nut job to me._

_Easy, Scott. This is just an introduction_, his telepathic wife sent back. She held out her hand for Babette. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

"Hello," Babette replied, her mouth spreading into a smile. It erased the signs of her worry and loss and made her seem more like herself.

"An' dis 'ere is Aiden, 'er companion," Remy continued.

"Hello," Jean said once more and offered her hand.

Aiden was grinning now and slowly rose to his feet to take it with both of his own, every move telegraphing a rich sexual interest. Like Kimble, Aiden could be graceful when he wanted to be, when he wanted to seduce. He was all liquid animal magnetism now, flexing his muscles and preening for her, appearing more sensual and dangerous. A beautiful creature, like a panther waiting to pounce. His eyes gleamed at her like prey, like he wanted nothing more than for her to give up all control and let him simply ravish her right then and there.

_Oh, no. Here we go again, _Jean couldn't help but think. She'd had a similar first encounter with Kimble years ago. She allowed the newcomer to touch her and prepared for the worst.

"**Cheerii dumask etet," **Aiden replied smoothly in the Muzla, knowing the exotic tongue would add to his mystery, and bowed low to kiss her hand. His eyes were half closed and his mouth curled in a pleasured smile, as if the privilege of touching her was enough to make him high.

Jean couldn't help but flush and laugh a little. She felt his power come at her, lapping against the pleasure centers of her brain. It was far stronger than Kimble's and it instantly spread through her like a fever, making her a bit too warm.

"I hope that was hello," she giggled.

"Indeed it wasz, pretty. May I 'ave ze pleaszure of your name?"

She cocked her head at his strange accent. It was like Remy's but yet its own creature, smooth and full of 'z's. "I'm Jean."

"And I'm Scott Summers, her husband," Cyclops interrupted a bit rudely. He held out his own hand to break their contact. He didn't like the way his wife was blushing.

Not to be undaunted, Aiden turned his pale green eyes on the male offering before him. His posture changed subtly as this new situation presented itself. He was softer now, his body stance becoming less intimidating and more feminine. He wasn't backing down any, merely adjusting. "Hmm, yesz. Aiden 'asz 'ear of you. You much more in ze flesh. Tell me, what color are you eyesz? Aiden cannot szee zem."

"W-what?" Scott stammered lamely, flustered as much by the unaccustomed question as he was by Aiden's chameleon like body language. He had no idea what to expect. "Uh, brown."

Aiden smiled mischievously and gave Scott a sip of his power as he exchanged Jean's hand for his. "Brown isz good. Ze color of wiszdom. Probably why Aiden 'asz dem not, eh?"

Scott shivered as much from the vibration of desire that came at him from nowhere as from the strange words he was hearing. He had no idea how this conversation had taken this direction, but he was teetering badly here, drawn into those pale green eyes full of playful hunger and need.

"C'est assez, Aiden," Gambit complained with a soft snicker, separating them with a gentle nudge to Aiden's shoulder. He couldn't help but find the whole thing somewhat hilarious. He'd seen Scott wavering simply by the fact that for one moment Scott had lost his normally rigid posture and actually relaxed. His shine had sparkled brightly from Aiden's Kundatesh and Remy could see the arousal.

Once separated, Cyclops took an awkward step back, switching from dazed curiosity to tightly controlled anger. He was shocked that Aiden had gotten past his mental defenses so easily. It was as if he'd woken to find his hand stuck in a bag of worms, he was so disgusted by the reaction that had been drawn out of him unbidden. "I came here to welcome you. I hope that you remember that you came to us for aid and there will be no trouble."

"Trouble?" Aiden asked, stepping back himself to take a more defensive posture. He could read Scott's shine as well. It was telegraphing his anger...and his disgust as well. This one was not receptive to his advances and never would be. This was more than his being married, Scott was vibrating a strong anti-Siskan sentiment.

"Yes. We've seen that you Siskans can be unruly and hard to manage at times."

"Scott!" Jean complained. She looked at Aiden in apology. "What he means to say is that we have rules here. I hope you don't mind being confined for a while. As it is, we can see that your companion Babette needs the rest."

"It isz no trouble," Aiden replied, his shine sparkling an angry black now as he spoke the lie. "Perhapsz you will learn zat we Sziszkansz are not at all what we szeem, eh?"

"And you, Kimble, how are you feeling?" Scott inquired, turning his eyes in that direction. He hadn't really wanted to know, he was just being polite in front of their guests.

Kimble's eyes were down now, submissive. He'd felt the Second in Command's disgust towards Aiden and it tanked his high spirits. It wasn't just that Scott disliked Aiden, it was that Scott disliked all of the Siskans. It had always been this way, Kimble's lack of emotional and sexual control had seen to that. The only one he barely tolerated was Seth and he'd always kept their conversations short as though he wasn't going to give Seth an opportunity to let him down. "I'm fine, sir," Kimble replied, his voice low.

"Good then," Cyclops replied, eager to leave and make his report. "You'll be settled in in a couple of more days," he said to Aiden. "Enjoy your stay."

"Oh, I intend to," the Siskan replied with meaning, not letting Scott off the hook so easily. He was furious at how Kimble had reacted. It smacked of habit and told him that Kimble had been put down before. Kimble did not feel accepted, not even by those who claimed to be his family.

"Well dat was smooth," Gambit snapped at Aiden as soon as Jean and Scott had left. He knew by experience that Aiden could be handful but had hoped the Siskan would have controlled himself better than this. "You tryin' to alienate everyone you meet, cher?"

Aiden looked at him disarmingly, that arrogant smile firmly in place. "Whatever do you mean?" he asked with saccharine sweetness.

"Don' use your power like dat. Most folks don' like it."

"Eszpecially you men, eh? What have you to fear from me? I am 'armlessz, me."

"Oh, you far from 'armless, Aiden. We bot' know dat. Don' be playin' your little games round 'ere. Folks 'ere ain't so fo'givin' as me."

Aiden started to comment further but a sharp noise from Babette silenced him.**_ / Dreamer, behave! _**she vibrated.**_ / Need my rest I do!_**

He hung his head in submissive regret, not because he had acted badly, but because he had upset her. "Szorry, my love," he whispered softly, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Settle down and play, you," she ordered firmly, forgiving him. He smiled at her and looked back at Kimble. The pilot was still low, the lowest he'd been since Aiden's arrival. The game hadn't been finished, but he was already putting the pieces away. He was vibrating pain and suffering and wanted only to find a small place to hide.

"What'sz disz, eh?" Aiden asked, coming closer.

"Just wants to sleep," Kimble mumbled drearily, not looking up at him.

Just in the short time they had been together, Aiden had already noticed that Kimble slept far more than a normal Siskan should. The average 'gram only required four hours or so a day. The only reason Aiden could guess as to why Kimble would need to sleep so much was to escape from a world he did not feel comfortable in. Aiden wasn't about to support Kimble's need to hide away. No, if he had his way, he would give Kimble endless reasons to stay awake. To stay awake and play with him.

"Non, it time for szome szun, let'sz go up," Aiden suggested, glancing at Gambit for approval. The thief would have to accompany them.

"Good idea," Remy agreed. Kimble always felt better after a charge. "Let's go, buddy."

He tugged on Kimble and brought him to his feet, steering him to the door.

---------------------

Remy leaned against the railing of one of the guard shacks and openings for the lower levels, idly wishing for a cigarette. That had been a hard habit to break for him. He'd made a promise to Kimble that if the Siskan would give up his desire for bio-produced plasma, he would quit smoking. Both had agreed to the promise, both had backslid more than once. Remy still had that emergency pack in his pocket, freshly opened from when Kimble had just had that spill with Mary. He fingered it but left it in his pocket.

Right now, Remy was enjoying the view. He was up here watching two Siskans fall in love. They had come up to one of the nearby parking areas for the Blackbird jets, using an access route stairwell that took them far away from the main Complex building. It was warm out here as it always was in the desert, but a nice soft breeze was blowing the sand around pleasantly. Both Aiden and Kimble were a few paces away, frolicking about in the bright sunshine. Aiden was taking advantage of the wide open area and was trying to do his ritual exercises, but Kimble was being very disruptive. His spirits had recovered just on the short trip up here and he was now was playfully pestering Aiden with obnoxious questions and trying to imitate Aiden's movements. Remy knew perfectly well that Kimble was properly trained in these exercises, Logan had taught him years ago. He was just flubbing it up for the attention.

Aiden completed one smooth movement, but bobbled as Kimble said something stupid and made him laugh. That was a strange sound, Aiden hadn't laughed all that much back at Trishnar's when Remy had first met him. Aiden had been sullen and quiet, skulking around the house and keeping pretty much to himself. He was being bright and open now, normal. As much as Kimble was reviving a bit from his visitor, so Aiden was coming out of his shell.

Feeling flirtatious, Kimble reached up over his shoulders and pulled his shirt off back to front, arching his back and flapping his wings to stretch. It was much cooler inside the Complex and he was warming up fast from the exercise and the Arizona heat. Aiden paused, momentarily breathless.

Remy's smile grew wider as he watched the rapid change in Aiden's shine. The calm and passive blue had changed to a sparkly red, a sign of his arousal. He'd gotten a rush just watching Kimble undress.

Kimble noticed it too. He cocked his head and flexed, deliberately preening.

"**_You szuch a teasze!_**" Aiden hissed in Siskan, his eyes playful. He'd spoken in Siskan for a reason, they weren't alone. Two of Logan's guards stood beside Remy over at the railing. It was now procedure for any time the Siskans came up topside, Remy's presence alone was no longer enough.

"What? It's hot," Kimble said, pretending innocence.

Aiden just nodded and played his next move, removing his own shirt as well. He was lean and well muscled as any decent Siskan should be. He was beautiful in the sun and he knew it. Most of the damage done to him was gone now, faded considerably from a couple day's charge. He moved around Kimble in a slow circle and began to sing. The song was in Siskan, a crude song of lust.

_**Come come to me my love**_

_**Take me in, your body like a glove**_

_**Hot and wet, give me some**_

**_Feel me, fuck me, make me cum_**

Kimble was momentarily struck dumb. It had been years since he'd heard anything of his home world. His own memory was fractured and disjointed, whole years were missing, especially those in the very beginning. He knew this song, but didn't know who had taught it to him or why. It was a stupid little thing, a child's pathetic rhyme, but it made him shake with pleasure to hear it.

Aiden sensed Kimble's wonder if not the why. He laughed and repeated the silly ditty, dancing now in slow, deeply erotic moves and snapping his fingers to make time. Kimble began to pace him, giggling and singing along. Aiden switched verses, the next quatrain much cruder than the first, his moves matching his words as his erotic dance continued. Kimble followed with his own and it became a game, to see who could be nastier. On and on it went, the two of them circling each other like flirtatious little kids, their hands reaching out to touch.

Remy was laughing softly now. He understood Siskan very well, even the crude slang, and he thought it was hilarious. He hadn't known Aiden could dance, but guessed he should have known, all Siskans were supposedly fully trained in the many arts of pleasure. Aiden's dance was seductive, Kimble's intense interest left no doubt of that.

Gambit couldn't take his own eyes off of Aiden, either. His draw was too powerful. Kimble had long since shown him the pleasure of a man, and even though he'd made a vow to Molly he would keep, he couldn't help the shiver of lust he felt just watching that slender blonde body moving with its liquid feline grace. Aiden was vibrating, **_/ Fuck me. Fuck me, now. /_** It was hard for his Siskan self to ignore.

"Stupid fuckin' queers. What are we doin' out here anyway?"

Gambit paused in his chuckling and his red eyes slowly slid to his right. The guards were right next to him, out here on Logan's orders. His two companions were laughing contemptuously to one another, clearly not enjoying the show. One of them was Gambit's old buddy Jerry Maxwell, the telekinetic from when Kimble had transformed into Zander. Since then ol' Jerry had pretty much made up his mind about Kimble and it wasn't favorable. He was looking on the pilot now with a look of pure disgust.

"This is shit, man. We should be out there fighting, not watchin' this faggot crap."

Kimble faltered, his sensitive body picking up on their vibrations of loathing immediately. He stopped his own dance and stood in place, his head down and his wings slumping. He was tuning out, hearing stirrings from within, the censure had roused Lin and the soft whisperings began. **_We should go back inside. It's too big out here._**

Kimble wasn't allowed a chance to respond to his inner voices. Aiden's ability to read Kimble had told him many things about this pilot. He could easily sense the damage and the inadequate repair that was only barely holding him together. He had recognized the blank look on Kimble's face and knew what it meant. He didn't like it and gave him a gentle shove. "Eh? Keemble! Where you at? Look at me."

Kimble snapped out of it and looked up, his pale blue eyes rimmed with pain.

Aiden snarled softly in anger, pissed that his playful attempts at courtship had once again been so rudely interrupted, and looked over Kimble's shoulder. The two guards had frozen in place, they had thought themselves too far away to be heard. They had been unaware of Kimble's empathy and hadn't realized their hate could be felt until now. They were unsure of how they had been noticed and the air was heavy with an impending confrontation. Remy stood up straight now, ready to respond if he was needed.

He wasn't. Aiden looked back into Kimble's face and said rather loudly, "What you care desze two 'uman shitsz t'ink, eh? Dey not'ing but **Chuckfet**, organic 'uman trash."

"They hates me," Kimble mumbled soft and low.

"Huh? Szo what? You t'ink zey are better dan usz causze dey real an' you are not? Hah! Zey de onesz wort'less! Zey cannot feel what a Sziszkan can feel, zey cannot live ze way we live. Dey ze onesz dead. Aiden cannot imagine not being able to feel ze rush of a client cummin' like ze four windsz. Dey ze onesz empty, dey ze onesz not wort' ze air zey breathe. Fuckin' waszte of flesh an' szpace!"

"Hey! What the fuck is your problem!" Jerry shouted, coming closer. Aiden had intended that his comments be overheard and they had been. Jerry was easily roused to anger and hadn't liked Aiden's derisive words. Jerry wasn't quite sure how this had started but he wasn't about to sit still for it.

"My problem? Your piecze of shit, bigoted leetle mind, puke!" Aiden retorted, his eyes hungry at the thought of battle.

"Whoa dere, boys!" Remy interrupted, stepping forward. He hadn't liked that Kimble felt so much shame for his natural sexual tendencies, but Aiden's outburst was uncalled for and shocking. As much as Aiden was complaining about the prejudices of the guards, it was clear that Aiden suffered from his own bigotry as well. His body was vibrating a strong anti-non-Siskan sentiment. So much for Aiden taking his advice about controlling his temper and Siskan ways. "Take it easy, mes amis."

"You got a smart mouth, little boy," Jerry said to Aiden, ignoring Gambit completely.

"It szmart all right, yesz. Szmart and talented, too," Aiden replied with an evil sneer. He grabbed Kimble's cheeks and kissed him, a pure vampire kiss full of lustful intent. Kimble tried to fight, believing such a display would get him beaten or worse. On the one hand, he was drowning in the embrace, loving every moment of it, but he was screaming inside. He'd hidden his lust for men deep inside back at the Institute, only letting it out in far away private places. He'd learned long ago that this way of loving wasn't acceptable here and often lead to violence. He wanted none of that.

"Why you, little perverted --- " Jerry started, coming forward. He was grabbed from behind by his partner.

"Don't, Jerry. This guy ain't worth it."

"Oh, Aiden isz wort' it all right!" the Siskan challenged, not done having his say. "You want a piecze of disz, eh? I'll szuck you szo good, you never aszk for a woman again! Make you cum szo 'ard, your brainsz shatter!"

Jerry lunged and his partner grabbed him, tossing him back. "Leave it! He's trying to get us busted! It isn't worth it!"

Jerry shook his head and shoulders, loosening up, and backed off, his face bright red. He was furious, a hothead unable to let this little faggot boy have the last word. "This isn't over!"

"Oh, I 'ope not, preciousz," Aiden said, blowing him a kiss.

Jerry lunged again and was shoved back, this time with Remy giving a hand. The thief gave Aiden a burning glare of warning. "C'est assez! Dat's enough! Aiden, you just back off now! What you tryin' ta prove, eh?"

Aiden didn't move an inch. He turned his attention back to Kimble who had wilted in his hands from the confrontation. Kimble's shine was now swirling black and he'd gone back to staring off into nothing, his conscience back in the Black Room of his own mind. Lakotashay, the Quitter and the Mistress of his own self loathing, was stirring. Aiden wasn't about to let her. "Eh? What'sz disz, Keemble? Don' you let desze **Chuckfet** trash make you shine turn to black, eh? Don' you ever let nobody make you t'ink bein' Sziszkan a cursze!"

Kimble's eyes suddenly focused on Aiden's and his shine shimmered brightly. "What?"

Remy shoved Jerry back into place and turned to watch as something magical happened. Kimble's shine was swirling from black to green in an incertain, nervous churn of emotion. Green was a color long absent from his friend, it was sign of pride. Of self worth.

Aiden locked Kimble in place once more with his both hands and his forceful spirit. "Don' ever let nobody make you t'ink bein' Sziszkan isz wrong! I szeen you. Szeen ze way you act around zem. You try to be **Chuckfet**, try to be like zem. Hah! Aiden never want to be deir way! 'E Sziszkan and proud of it! 'E love ze girlsz, love ze boysz. Don' matter not'ing. 'E make zem all cry wit szuch joy at ze touch of 'isz 'andsz. I embraze my 'eritage! What better dan usz! We live from ze sun, we immortal now. Godsz! We live on a whole other plane of existanze from dem. We alive! Dey ze onesz dead!" he finished dramatically, bringing Kimble close for another bruising kiss.

Kimble's shine was bright and glowing ever brighter with each second he was in contact with Aiden's mouth. He was filled with a vibration of Aiden's pride and self worth, a vibration so powerful it roused him with a sense of self he hadn't felt in years. For a long time now he'd done just as Aiden said, trying to bend himself to fit into a human shape. It hadn't been working out too well. Being with Aiden made him want to stop all of that. Aiden didn't walk around with his head down, he didn't constantly watch to see if what he was doing was acceptable or not. He behaved as he was --as a Siskan who's feet were firmly on the ground. Kimble was filled with a terrible jealousy, one that was being washed away by that very kiss. "Don' fight it no more, Keem," Aiden whispered now, his lips still so close. "We are what we are. What we are meant to be. What doez 'Sziszkan' mean?"

"It means the 'good people'," Kimble recited faithfully, his voice growing stronger.

"Dat'sz right. All ze Sziszkansz dead 'cept for usz. Now we ze Good People. **Tay kunda Siska esken.** We are ze Sziszkansz and we are alive. We are ze very beszt. We are ze onesz **real**."

Kimble whimpered softly and embraced his new friend tightly, not wanting to let him go. Aiden allowed it with a gentle laugh, his pale green eyes daring his human guards to say anything about it. Nobody was, Remy had the situation back under control. Aiden then set Kimble back on his feet. He tipped Kimble's chin up, straightening his shoulders and making him stand tall. "Who are you, eh?" he asked, his voice confident and firm.

"I'm Kimble. I'm Siskan."

"Got dat right. Who isz real?"

"I am."

"Damn sztraight, an' never let no one tell you diff'rent," Aiden agreed and took a step back. "Now where wasz I? Ah yesz. Dere once was a lady from Sziszka..."

Remy smiled and relaxed, pleasantly astonished at what he'd just witnessed. Just like that Aiden had skillfully pulled Kimble back from the brink and he'd done it in such a way that Kimble was stronger than ever before. Perhaps his prayers had finally been answered.

The guards were still muttering to themselves, but Kimble no longer heard them, he was focused on Aiden and back to playing the game. Back to laughing. Back to being alive.


	3. Chapter 3

(Three)

Jael sat on his throne, unhappy. It had been an exciting past few days and he was finally coming down from the high of it. First there was the invigorating battle at Trishnar's, how he'd enjoyed that in spite of being so badly injured. He might have lost the sword fight itself, but he'd won the battle and had shown his superiority. Then there was the matter of his Shalayesk armor. He'd fully recovered from his injuries in a matter of hours thanks to Star's magic, but when he went to remove the armor, he discovered that some of the inner pieces had permanently bonded themselves to his body, no doubt a result of the angel child's energy fusing with it. It might have been more disturbing if it weren't for the unshakable feeling he had that it had done so to protect him. He now had fixed shield coverings on his arms and legs and around his torso where he'd been injured the most severely. It would take a lot more than a metal sword to hurt him again like that.

After the battle with Trishnar, Jael had returned to his underground lair outside of New York City. He wasn't merely returning home, he was closing this lair of his permanently. Now that he had four such large Command ships there was no need for such a fixed and limited base. It would be so much safer for him to stay mobile. He would be impossible to find and could strike from anywhere. This was a large base with a lot of equipment and he was going to be here several days at least to pack it all up.

What was making Jael currently unhappy was the last update he'd received from Razel a few hours ago. The news was not to his satisfaction. He'd sent a couple of people down to New Orleans to search out the Siskans he suspected were missing from Trishnar's harem. He assumed they were hiding in the woods nearby or some such but they hadn't been found. He hadn't thought it would take this long to retrieve them. Siskans were weak, hopelessly dependant on a Master to guide them, they couldn't have run far. He had no doubts that they had existed though he had no evidence to support that, it was just a whisper in his mind. So the question remained, if the missing Siskans weren't in New Orleans, where were they?

Jael figured it wasn't out of the question that they would run to Westchester and to Remy. If the thief's bonds with Trishnar were as strong as he suspected, they just might try to contact the one they thought might best protect them. To that end, Jael intensified his intelligence gathering on the X-men. Word was that the Westchester Xavier complex was now strangely almost empty, how mysterious. Why would Charles abandon a place of safety, one that Jael himself had not been able to penetrate? This was perplexing to Jael as he hadn't gotten concrete intelligence of any departures, his spies had no pictures of ships or planes or buses. It was like folks had just disappeared gradually, each day there were less and less people about until finally, there was only a skeleton crew — one he suspected wasn't going to be there much longer. Jael knew some things about Xavier's crew and it was most likely that they were either being teleported out or removed by some other means. What Jael didn't really know of course was that Charles had in his arsenal the Lucky Dragon, a transport vessel that could easily be cloaked to fly in and out undetected by normal standards.

Jael's follow up attempts to locate where the X-men may have gone to had produced mixed results. Sabertooth's tracking devices placed him in the Arizona desert, but they were not pinpoint accurate. Jael also had Mary Green in a position to infiltrate the Westchester Complex and he knew she had been taken to where ever folks were disappearing to. She had at least been able to confirm the location was in fact in the Arizona desert, but little more. He'd received nothing further from her other than a single check in where she said she had arrived safely and was so far not under suspicion, something that had raised his spirits. She was talented and worth every penny he was spending on her. Her global positioning device was malfunctioning she said, she was going to try and figure out another way to pinpoint her exact position. That and she was going to try and track down Kimble. After that, nothing.

"My Lord?"

Jael looked up at the soft spoken request made by his Second, Razel. "Yes?"

"I have news. Something that I hope will make you feel better."

Jael couldn't help but smile at the genuine concern he heard there. "What is it?"

"Cortland got a lock on Mary Green's bio-signature."

Jael wasn't without his own resources as well. Cortland was mutant tracker, a walking mutant detector. Bent on a goal, he could locate almost anyone anywhere in the world.

"Yes?"

"She was in Arizona when he had her last coordinates."

"Your use of the past tense means...?"

"Cortland believes she is dead, my Lord. They must have detected her."

"But you have the exact location?"

"Yes. An Industrial Complex in Costin, sir. I'm having Kyria look up the deeds for all the facilities there, sir. We should have her intel within the hour, sir."

Jael brightened at that, his gloom dissipating at once. "Excellent."

"So we'll be going in, sir?" Razel asked, his eyes gleaming. How he had loved seeing Jael tear Trishnar apart and steal his wealth. With Xavier gone in the same fashion, the whole world would be theirs.

"No," Jael replied simply, his voice a bit thoughtful. He said nothing more.

"May I ask why not?" Razel dared to ask when he realized Jael wasn't going to elaborate.

"Because I have decided that Xavier will suffer as I have suffered. He is not worthy of the Game. I will make him give Kimble to me, one way or another. I will destroy everything and everyone he loves until he **_begs_** me to take Kimble off of his hands."

These were not empty words. He had in fact already composed and sent another letter of warning to Xavier that the man should be getting any day now. Jael had made his intentions very clear, Kimble would soon be too expensive for Xavier to keep. There was going to be much blood. The X-men would pay for all the deaths they had caused in his ranks every time he had tried to attack them. They were just defending themselves, he knew this, but they would still pay and dearly.

Razel had not been privy to the letter his Master had composed and was bit surprised to hear what Jael had said. He knew Jael could be ruthless at times, but this? It had to be the new Command ships they had acquired. It was true that Jael could probably take Xavier down now at his leisure. The thing of it was, the longer the delay, the greater the chance of something going wrong. It seemed better to Razel to eliminate the threat right away.

"Don't worry, Raz," Jael gently chided. "Good things come to those who wait. Did you bring me my newspapers?"

"Yes, Master," Razel said, dumping the stack on a small table next to the throne. "You might find the USA Now of particular interest."

Jael grunted an acknowledgment and selected that one first. On the front page was a large spread covering the current mutant crisis. As per usual, Jael's terrorist group was mentioned, but no photographs of any of his members were included. So far none in the media had been able to capture an image of Jael nor his men, not even the sword fight in the middle of Central Park had brought no usable photographs of himself, something that pleased him. His anonymity was one of his safeguards. According to one of the articles, he was considered the strongest mutant threat since his group was responsible for the highest number of human casualties, something that made him swell with pride.

There were other articles as well, one that was most notable ---- an article that directly quoted Butch Madison, the free leader of the Outkasts. The Outkasts was a mutant group not unlike Jael's own. They did not fight for mutant rights so much as making their way merrily plundering the human world of its vast riches. They were quiet, not striking out in the open, but had mastered several coups behind the scenes, manipulating world governments to better suit themselves. Jael's intelligence was far reaching and he had heard rumors that it was the Outkasts who had stopped the North Korean nuclear march and had whisked away those pesky nukes. None of this was substantiated of course.

In the article, Butch was making some rather bold statements. He was responding to the recent push to instate the mutant registration act and some of the other proposals being made, most notably, the suggestion that mutants should be quarantined in camps or perhaps even be forcibly sterilized. "If you establish any of these protocols," Butch was telling the world, "you will see a war like none you have ever witnessed before. You think Jael is so tough? He's nothing more than a dog's chew toy squeaking for your stupid attention under my feet. I am ten times more powerful and far more lethal. Do not underestimate me just because I do not flaunt myself in front of you as he does. You haven't seen anything like the apocalypse that will be unleashed at my command should any one of my mutant brethren be harmed!"

Jael bristled some at Butch's bold words. It was true that no one really knew just how powerful the Outkasts really were, but that didn't give the little twerp the right to badmouth him in public like that.

"Don't worry, boss," Razel was saying as if he could read Jael's mind. "We'll show him. Once the Game is done, we'll kick his ass."

Jael smiled at that. Nice to have others show their faith. "Yes, we will indeed."

They both looked up as Marcus came in, carrying some papers, updates for Jael. "Cortland gave the Xavier coordinates to Kyria and she did a quick check on the location. It seems our pal Xavier purchased a large amount of Industrial property in a Complex out there over the past several years. He owns four or five large buildings there all next to one another. Kyria is doing a check on the adjacent properties, maybe we can pick up something close by to occupy and set up some intel operations."

"If we can't, what is the terrain like there?"

"The area is fairly remote, surrounded by mountains and scrub desert. If we had to we could move in a couple of the Command ships there or dig in."

"We don't have time to dig in, that would take months. We have weeks. I understand we have to prepare, but I don't want to give Xavier's team any more time to build up than we have to."

"Yes, sir. Do you want me to call for the Cloud Jumper? We can start scouting out the area."

Jael nodded. Of the four ships, he liked the Cloud Jumper the best and he intended it to be his new headquarters. "Yes, at once."

Marcus nodded and left.

"So we are going out there?" Razel asked, testing Jael's mood.

"Of course," Jael replied, looking up at him with his cat's eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I never said I wouldn't. I just plan on making this as excruciating as possible for our little friends. I am looking forward to it most happily."

--------------------

That same morning, Remy sat at his own kitchen table, not quite dressed for work but getting there. He was drinking his first cup of coffee of the day and munching on bacon while reading the paper. He wasn't used to Arizona news and was reading the national section, taking in the word on the mutant crisis. Of course there were calls to bring on the Mutant Registration Act and even some quarantine camps. One spokesmen for the cause of humanity was calling for forced sterilization of mutants, something that really stuck in Gambit's craw, especially with Molly pregnant now. No one was about to tell him he did not have the right to have his kids.

Some of the articles were the same as the ones Jael was reading. Remy read with interest the statements from Butch Madison, the leader of the Outkasts. He read as Butch threatened that if the mutant containment camps went into effect, there would be some serious terrorism in response, repercussions so profound, that they'd make Jael look like a pussy. Remy wasn't that familiar with the Outkasts as he was with other mutant factions. He'd run into a couple of them on Thieves' Guild jobs before he'd joined the X-men, but not recently. One of the Outkasts had even offered to bring him to see Butch Madison himself and at that time he'd been tempted. He'd heard stories underground that Butch's crew was the most powerful, most secret group of mutants gathered, that most of them were omegas.

There were three classes of mutants. The first of these were betas, those who's gifts were surface only and ornamental, like horns or scales. They did not possess extra strength or mental powers, they simply looked different enough to be cast out of the normal society. These were the weakest and the most vulnerable since they had no extra skills to defend themselves.

Then there were alphas like Remy was and most of Xavier's crew. This middle class had enhanced strength or they could fly. Iceman could manufacture ice from the air and Nightcrawler could teleport. Remy could produce bio-kinetic energy, but it was limited to whatever small objects he could put in his hands. He couldn't blow up buildings or shoot planes down from the sky. Most alphas brought up their standing by adding to their talents with martial skills and were well educated. They used their talents to do more than just get by in the world, they gained some personal wealth and were not so easily intimidated by their normal human brethren.

The omegas were their own class and not to be trifled with. Xavier, being a most powerful telepath was certainly in this class. But there were others who could blow up buildings with a thought or stop someone's heart just by wishing it. Some like Magneto, could disrupt the planet's natural ecosystems enough to destroy them all. Others could walk through walls or turn their bodies into ghostly vapor and were untouchable. No prison would ever hold them. Sabretooth in his glory might have been in this class. For the most part he'd been virtually indestructible, coming back from whatever punishment was delivered. Omegas were the most feared of all the mutants by the ungifted populace and with good reason, there was no real defense when an omega went nuts or had a secret agenda. Butch Madison's threats were very real and had to be taken seriously.

Remy was nervous enough, mostly due to his limited information on the guy. He had heard that Butch had a thing for energy producers. Remy had no reason to doubt this since he'd been approached at a time before Sinister had modified his powers and brought them down and back into control. It was true that Gambit had never fully explored the limits of his power before it had spiked, who knew what he might have been capable of then? Butch had certainly been interested in him, but afterwards? Remy had never heard from him again, presumably he'd been made too weak by Sinister's alterations to be of any further value. Not that Gambit cared at being passed over, as fucked up as he was, he'd never had an inner desire to be a terrorist or work for one, no matter what the financial reward. It just wasn't in him.

Gambit looked up from his paper when he heard a soft knock on his door. Molly was asleep in bed, still not feeling so good. She'd spent most of the night heaving and being perfectly miserable. Henry gave her some medicine to help with nausea and it made her sleepy. She had finally fallen asleep and Remy was happy to let her be. Angel was at school so Remy was pretty much by himself. He set his paper down and answered, surprised at finding Seth at his door. The Siskan was alone and empty handed except for his small backpack, the one where he carried his energy cubes.

"Bonjour. What's up buddy?" Remy greeted, unsure as to why Seth was here.

Seth shifted nervously, not quite meeting his eyes. "Oh, not much. I was bored and I remembered you saying that you would teach me some things. You know, like picking locks."

Remy smiled at that, he'd forgotten, but was more than willing to honor his promise. He had a feeling that wasn't what Seth really wanted but he let him in anyway. He could see some strange murkiness in Seth's shine, the same unease that had been there since that last fight with Fallen, when Kimble was first taken into custody after Mary's death. Remy wasn't sure what it meant, only that it had to mean Seth wasn't very happy. Remy didn't need to read just his shine to tell him that, he could see it in Seth's eyes. He figured that Seth just needed some attention right now and was happy to give it.

Gambit grabbed a bundle from the long coat he'd draped over the back of his chair. He always carried a few sets of picks and other light tools in a rolled up cloth, never knowing when they might come to use. His apartment was a two bedroom just like Fallen and Seth shared, and he brought the bundle over to the spare room door, motioning for the young Siskan to follow him.

As he set out his tools, Remy asked casually, "Where's Fallen at?"

Seth's Mistress usually didn't let Seth out of her sight. Gambit had never agreed with Fallen's policy of hiding Seth away. He understood the why of it, Kimble was kind of nuts after all, but wondered if some of it was a response to Fallen's former husband Valentin being abusive of her. Victims of abuse were forever changed and they reacted to it in different ways. Fallen might not have followed with physical abuse herself, but she was very controlling of Seth, the way Valentin had been controlling of her. She had to know every little thing Seth did and where he was at all times. She was unnaturally possessive of him, to the point of smothering. She limited his contact with others and therefore controlled who his friends were and who he associated with. Seth was a prisoner of the Ristle cubes, really. Fallen was a female, but she was far more powerful than Seth, who couldn't even physically defend himself against her.

Seth answered Gambit's question, "She had to run Karen to Westchester. She should be back in an hour."

Remy knew this already, but he asked anyway, "You needed to get out?"

Seth smiled at him. "Yeah."

Remy had his tools ready and he made sure Seth was looking at him when he said, "Now, I'm not learnin' you dis so y'all can get in trouble, neh?"

"I'll be good," Seth promised, his eyes merry.

Remy was happy to see it, some of the swirling in Seth's shine had dissipated and Gambit felt better about doing this. He gave Seth a spare set of picks and began to explain what each one was and how it was used. He placed his own set of picks in the lock and showed him how to use them to manipulate the tumblers there. It was a cheap lock, too easy, but it was the best for a beginner like Seth.

"Bien, now you 'ave a try, fils."

Seth took his picks and moved up to the lock, doing his best to imitate what Remy had just shown him. Remy watched him, not so much to observe his technique, but was still wondering what was going on with him. He wondered why Seth was really here and hoped that the Siskan would get around to speaking what was on his mind.

Seth didn't answer Remy's thoughts, he was working. He wiggled the picks around, but wasn't even close to matching Remy's smoothness. He slipped and fumbled one of the picks in his uncooperative fingers, snarling a curse under his breath. He was used to learning things quickly, having a computer chip for a brain was ever so helpful, but he always struggled with physical things and this was obviously not going to be an exception. His hands were slow and stupid, every motion a struggle to get right. He hadn't a prayer of equaling Remy's nuances, his simple manual grace. Once again, Seth was reminded of his personal failure to alter his codes properly, it was a humbling he did not want or appreciate. His attempts to work this simple lock were humiliatingly feeble and he felt a surge of self loathing rip right through him, it was enough to bring a shine to his eyes, threatening tears of frustration.

Remy was startled enough by the soft curse from Seth, this Siskan seldom if ever swore. Seth was passive, always mild mannered and even tempered. Not so today, it seemed. But it was the sudden swirl of black through Seth's shine that made him move. He'd seen that too many times in Kimble not to recognize it for what it was, Seth was angry at himself and not in a good way.

"Easy dere, fils," Remy said, coming up behind Seth to better show him what to do. He scrunched his chest to Seth's back, bringing his arms around Seth on either side to place his hands over the pilot's. He released a light vibration of soothing calm, hoping to take the edge off of Seth's anger. He said nothing about that, he had a feeling it was better not acknowledge what he'd seen, he didn't want to add to what Seth might be feeling as a loss of face. Instead he gave gentle instruction as he carefully moved Seth's hands to the task. "Light light touch. Soft, jus' like touchin' a woman, n'est ce pas? Like dis."

The moment Remy's arms came around him, Seth's anger slipped away. It was nice here like this as it always was whenever Remy was close. It was simply impossible to stay mad with the playful and patient Cajun around. He chuckled softly at Gambit's joke, not consciously feeling Remy's vibrations of calm melting away his anger, but knew it when his smile brought a strong vibration of affection from the thief. It wrapped itself around him, mingled with the heat of Remy's body now enclosed around him. It made him warm and happy, his love of warm things a trait he shared with his brother, Kimble.

Seth's clumsy motions became more refined under the thief's careful instruction and the lock gave way with a satisfying click. "Hey!" Seth gasped in delighted wonder.

"You did it, fils!" Remy praised, grateful for Seth's accomplishment. The young pilot's attempt hadn't been pretty, even the most inexperienced of thieves often did better at their first try, but at least this wasn't a total bust.

Seth turned his head to beam a radiant smile on his instructor, pleased with himself. The moment his head turned, the instant he locked his pale blue eyes with red and black, a flash of an image blasted its way through his mind, unbidden. Maybe it was the excitement of his accomplishment, or perhaps it was just those warm arms around him and the smell of Remy's aftershave always so pleasant --- but he saw for a moment a flash image of Remy leaning in to kiss him, a slow and careful movement, one filled with the deepest, most erotic affection. Seth flushed madly as his body surged with arousal and heat, something he couldn't hope to hide from someone as empathic as his friend.

This had been happening to Seth with an embarrassing frequency. Since his sensitivity to the vibrations had increased, so had his erotic notions of those around him. He had sex constantly on his mind, something new. Unfortunately, it was driving him nuts. Sure he liked sex as much as the next guy, but he always had other things going on -- his side projects, his work with Henry. Now, his attention span was increasingly short with sexual thoughts just barging their way in ever so rudely. He'd be talking to one of Henry's nurses and he'd get a flash image of her naked. Henry would just touch him lightly to move him aside and there was that heat, an image of being smothered in lovely blue fur. These things bothered Seth greatly, he loved his Mistress and had never even thought of laying with anyone else, not until now. It was worse somehow with Remy wrapped around him like this, feeding him liquid vibrations of affection. They bled into him, bringing to life those erotic thoughts with a white hot suddenness, affecting him far more strongly than anyone else.

Gambit's eyes widened as he noted Seth's unexpected response. _Shi'ow-ri!_

**_/ Wow. You've sure got a way with these Siskans!_** she chuckled at him, ever so helpful.

_Dat ain't even de least bit funny, chere! What did I do? _

_**/ Nothing. This came from him. Something's wrong, wrong between him and his Mistress. /**_

"Sumptin' on yo' mind, Set'?" Remy asked, his voice deepening in an unconscious response to Seth's vibrations of arousal. Some parts of him he could not control, even in a situation as bizarre as this one. He certainly never expected to find himself here, looking into the light pools of Seth's eyes, the young Siskan's body vibrating such a desperate want.

"I- I..." Seth stammered lamely in his embarrassment, but couldn't finish. Why was this happening to him? This was so horrible!

Remy waited with what he hoped was real patience, watching with disappointment as the dark swirling returned to Seth's shine. When he realized Seth had nothing coherent to offer, he said, "You an' Fallen okay?"

"We're fine," Seth replied, not sounding very sure about that at all. Yeah, they were speaking, but he couldn't help the resentment he'd been feeling towards his Mistress of late.

"She takin' care of you?" Gambit inquired, hoping his voice didn't show just how awkward this was for him. He wasn't used to thinking about Seth on sexual terms, but he was a Courtesan after all, something that was so easy to forget when the bulk of Seth's time was spent in a lab or on a computer. Kimble did not do these things, a distinction that had always made it easy to dismiss Seth as a non-sexual entity. Whatever Seth did with Fallen, it was in private. Seth was not openly affectionate, a set of behaviors he'd adopted as a means to protect himself – he would not see himself ostracized or looked on with disapproval as Kimble was.

Seth couldn't possibly misunderstand the nature of Remy's question. It was there, unspoken, in the air between them. But how could he hope to realistically answer that? Were they having sex? Yeah, but not that often. Why? Because this unease he'd been feeling for a while now was starting to creep in and infect every aspect of his life. He could please his Mistress, perform his duty well, but lately he wasn't getting much satisfaction for himself. He'd climax only to feel that unease settle right back in, arousing him all over again and denying him full satisfaction. The constant sexual thoughts weren't helping, he was spending far too much time in a simmering sexual heat. It was like being perpetually hungry with nary a morsel of food to be had. Fallen couldn't keep up with his newly jacked up libido, she wasn't that type of girl. Once or twice a week, she was good. But Seth's new fire was burning twenty-four/seven, fueled by the fact that he slept so little. He was far too submissive to his Mistress to ask for more and so kept his troubles to himself. He tried to relieve some of the pressure himself, but couldn't get off by masturbating, something that only made him feel worse.

Not being the best at articulating his feelings, Seth didn't have a clue about how to explain any of this to Remy no matter how patient he was, so he didn't even try. He moved out Gambit's embrace in a huff, pushing himself away to the livingroom and flopping down on Remy's big sectional with a heavy sigh of frustration.


	4. Chapter 4

(Four)

Gambit followed Seth from the door, but kept his distance. The kitchen was open to the livingroom and he went to the counter there, reaching for the carafe of coffee and pouring a small portion into a mug. He took his time, adding milk to cool it, while waiting for Seth to compose himself. As an afterthought, he grabbed some leftover strips of bacon from that morning's breakfast and lay them on a plate as well. He knew Seth didn't get meat often and would enjoy them. He brought the mug and plate to where his guest sat in a dejected heap and handed them over, gently prompting, "Talk to me, fils. What's goin' on wit you?"

Seth took the offered snacks and sipped the coffee, internally grateful for Remy's thoughtfulness. He was sensitive to hot drinks as he was all things, but still enjoyed something warm going in. Remy was aware of this and was always careful to cool whatever he gave over, not wanting Seth to scald himself. Even more welcome was the bacon, a rare delicacy for him. These treats had the desired effect, Seth wanted to reciprocate. He still wasn't sure how to explain the one problem on his mind so instead, he gave vent to another that was bothering him just as much. "I want to see Kimble."

The change in tack threw Remy for a moment, he had to blink and catch up. "You know dey ain't lettin' nobody see 'im. 'E's better, but 'e still not out of de woods yet, fils."

Seth gave him an expression of mingled irritation and resentment. He couldn't hide the snotty tone in his voice as he said, "They let Angel in to see him."

Remy cocked his head in surprise. What was this? Jealousy? Well, that had never happened before. Seemed like lots of things that hadn't happened before were happening now with this Siskan, something perplexing. "Angel went 'cause dere was a concern fo' 'er safety. Kimble wasn't sittin' right wit dat and 'e needed to be calmed down. Dat's de only reason."

"Was it?" Seth snapped, looking away. He swirled warm coffee in his mug, clearly not believing a word of it.

"An' why would dere be another?"

Seth returned his eyes, his words bitter as he explained, "Every time Kimble's been messed up, I've always been allowed to see him. No exceptions. Now this time, I've been kept away? It has to be personal."

Remy was blown away. Seth was all over the place here – the bizarre sexual episode, his anger, the jealousy, now paranoia. What was going on here? "Personal 'ow?"

"It's because I'm Siskan."

Gambit shook his head. "What does dat got to do wit anyt'ing?"

"Kimble's Siskan and from the moment he's been here, everything has been different," Seth replied, the words coming out fast as he ranted, "He's followed by Logan's guys all the time, he had to swallow a tracker. I did, too, you know? I had to, just to be fair. But you know what? No one else has to swallow trackers or be watched. It isn't fair, it isn't right. I want to see my brother! I have a right!"

"Of course you 'ave a right, nobody sayin' you don't. It's just dat Kim's not right. 'E just needs time. Dis 'as nuthin' to do wit bein' Siskan. It 'as to do wit Kimble bein' nuts."

Seth snorted derisively and turned away again.

"What you askin' for, cher? What's gonna satisfy you, eh? You want Gambit to sneak you in?"

Seth quickly looked back at that, his eyes hopeful. "Yes, please!" he replied, that Oliver Twist eagerness radiating on his face.

Remy much preferred that to Seth's earlier darkness and was willing to entertain thoughts of rule breaking, but only on one condition. "Only if you answer dis one question."

"Okay."

"What does Kimble got to do wit de way you was lookin' at me back dere?"

Seth was quiet, thinking a moment before answering as he teetered on the edge of honesty. He still didn't want to confess that he'd altered his codes, it was such a touchy subject, and quite frankly, he didn't want the criticism that was sure to follow. He already knew it had been a stupid move, he was reminded of it every time he'd been swamped by vibrations. The last thing he wanted was another person giving him a 'How could you be so stupid?' lecture. So instead of the truth, he offered, "Nothing. I'm... I've been really lonely. Fallen's around, but...but it hasn't been the same lately. She's been keeping me away from things, from other people since Kimble...you know, since he did what he did. It's...it's stressing me out and quite frankly, it was just nice to be...close to someone. Does that sound wrong?"

Remy smiled at him. "Non, of course not, cher. I take it my advice to talk to Fallen was a waste of time?"

Seth's brow crinkled in impatience. "It was good advice, I guess. It's just that... I don't know, it's been hard to talk to Fallen. She's said some things...she hates Kimble now."

"It 'urts, n'est ce pas?"

Pale blue eyes looked up, filled with pain. "Yes. Yes, it does. He's my brother."

Remy had what he wanted in that confession and was relieved enough to sit next to Seth and pull him close. "I know it's 'ard, but you gotta talk to 'er, fils. You 'ave to tell 'er what's on yo' mind. Keepin' it all inside is what made Kimble all nuts, don't you be doin' de same, neh? Talk to 'er."

"I'm talking to you."

"It's not de same. I can't go to Fallen for you, she'll see it as an attack. You gotta clear de air wit 'er or t'ings jus' gonna get worse, comprenez?"

"If I could just see Kimble for myself, I'd feel better."

Remy knew well enough that that alone wasn't going to be enough to ease Seth's pain, the problem wasn't that simple, but he could see that the Siskan was squirming. His empathy was telling him that Seth was being honest as far as being stressed out, that much was pretty obvious. He looked like he could really use a friend and not a judge. Perhaps it was best to indulge him and press him on the rest some other time.

"D'accorde, Gambit will get you in."

"Thank you!" Seth said, relaxing into his former childish self. He pushed into Remy, hugging him sloppily as he always did when he got his way.

Remy laughed, always amused by that, and squeezed back. "We gotta discuss de plan, neh?"

"Okay," Seth replied, happily retreating.

"Dere's a load of supplies comin' in wit Fallen, doctor stuff fo' 'Enry. We go down an' meet 'er, bring de stuff back up to de Lab. I'll jus' bet if you loaded up all helpful, no one's gonna turn you away. You go in de Lab, drop de stuff off, say 'allo to Kim and you get yo' ass out, comprenez?"

"Oh, yes! Thank you!"

Remy endured another constrictor tight hug, trying to breathe.

"You jus' gotta be warned, dere's some new people dere wit Kim, some friends of mine from N'awlins. Dey bein' kept separate like yo' brother. Dey ain't got clearance so you keep clear, d'accorde?"

"Okay. What new people?"

Remy carefully explained about Aiden and Babette, keeping it simple. They were Siskans running from the Game and were seeking shelter here. Logan was suspicious of them, not all of Aiden's story seemed right and it was being investigated. Until then, they were to be kept separate. Remy did not say anything about Babette's angel being murdered, he didn't dare. He just wanted Seth to know enough to ease his curiosity and keep his visit in the Lab short. He might get away with something brief, but an extended stay was sure to be punishable.

"You wit de plan now, fils?"

"Yes, thank you!"

"D'accorde," Remy replied, glancing at his watch. "If we gonna do dis, we best be goin' on, neh? Let's go."

Seth jumped up at once and waited impatiently as Remy finished dressing and left a quick scribbled note for Molly in case she woke up later. That finished, they made their way to the landing strip outside where the Lucky Dragon was sure to arrive. They didn't have to wait long, Fallen was right on time. She landed and disembarked, happy to see them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Nuthin' much. Jus' lendin' a helpin' 'and. 'Eard you got a bunch of stuff fo' 'Enry," Remy said, giving her his best charming smile.

"Well, yes. But there's no reason for us to offload it all now."

"Why put it off when we could 'ave it done just like dat?" Remy was speaking with more than his mouth. As the words left his lips, he used the Kundatesh to let slip some vibrations of calm and bliss, making his statement all the more persuasive. More and more, this empathic ability was becoming his primary weapon of choice, and it didn't let him down now.

Fallen wavered. She didn't want Seth anywhere near that lab, but damn if Remy wasn't being just so reasonable. It was true if they did it now it would save her from having to do it later.

"It won't take but a minute," Gambit insisted, putting his arm around her and leading her back inside the ship, his grin playful and light. His empathic voice was speaking to her, not quite heard but definitely understood. **_/ Isn't dis just de mos' fun in de world? Like a great big 'ol party. Come on, chere. You know you want to. / _**

"All right," she said, suddenly not caring about any of this at all. She felt happy to do this for Henry, he was just ever so nice. He would be grateful to have this stuff right away instead of having to wait. Remy was so thoughtful to help out, too. Blissfully unaware of Remy's careful manipulation, she loaded both men up with goods and they all went inside, heading for the lab.

Seth watched Remy work his Mistress with a bewildered kind of wonder. It was amusing to see Fallen get swayed so easily, yet it was spooky how easily Remy had persuaded her to do his will. Seth could sense Remy's vibrations and was a little more aware of what was happening than he would have been before. He never fully realized just how smooth Remy was with his power, with the charm that both and he and Kimble possessed. He realized that all those times Remy had soothed him, it was with this same use of power. Never was there evil intent and Seth didn't sense any now. He simply stored the knowledge away for later consideration. Right now, the only thing he was focused on was seeing Kimble again and making sure for himself that his brother was okay.

They made it to the Lab undisturbed and Remy was so sure he was going to get away with his little plan — that was until they happened to bump into Logan just outside the door. Wolverine saw them all loaded up with packages, Seth in particular, and wasn't the least bit fooled by the charming bright smile Remy beamed on him with ersatz innocence. "Bonjour, Wolvie."

"Where you guys goin'?"

"Me and Set' was jus' givin' Fallen a hand wit de supplies fo' 'Enry."

"Uh, huh," Logan replied arrogantly, looking them over with unveiled suspicion. "That's mighty helpful of you of you boys."

"I'll go on ahead," Seth said, moving towards the door. "You guys look like you've got things to talk about." He fully expected to be halted, but Logan let him pass. As he brushed by, Seth picked up a vibration of concern from Logan, something most unexpected.**_ / The poor kid. He misses his brother. He shouldn't have had to sneak in like this. It's my fault, I should have brought him down myself earlier. It's just been so busy lately, so many things to worry about. I'll make it up to him later. /_**

Seth couldn't help but smile at that, reassured that no blame would be passed for this. Some of the frustration and prejudice he'd been feeling slipped away and his shine brightened, something Remy could see. Gambit was unaware that of Seth's newfound sensitivity and wasn't quite sure why the Siskan had reacted so positively, but was happy about it all the same. He waited until Seth was gone before asking his teammate, "Sumptin' on yo' mind?"

"Yeah, while I've got the both of you here," Logan replied, giving Fallen a nod. She had started to follow Seth, but she paused now to listen. "With all the trouble that's going on, the concern that Jael is getting closer, Charlie's askin' all of his senior people to make sure they wear their uniforms. You know, just to keep the rank and file in order."

"I'm not a senior person," Fallen protested in confusion.

"Sure ya are. You just never acted like one. You've got the Dragon and yer doin' a lot of ferryin' of folks around. He sent up some new uniforms to yer rooms, specially made just fer you."

"I've been promoted," Fallen said in disbelief, not sure how to feel about that.

"Yeah, I guess. You and Seth. He had some jackets made fer yer boy, just somethin' with the emblem on them." Logan next looked Remy over, saying with a teasing smile, "And as fer you, Charlie sent some new ones up fer you as well. Made a better chest plate fer ya and boosted yer body armor, seeing as how you keep gettin' hurt an' all."

"Merci, I t'ink," Remy replied with a wry grin. "Dis mean I'm off light duty?"

"Yeah, Henry cleared ya. Don't get all excited just yet --- " Logan said quickly, seeing Remy's face brighten, " — he's gonna want ya mostly watchin' over our guests, makin' sure they don't have any trouble settlin' in. They can't be stayin' in the Lab ferever."

"Fine by me. Dat class was gettin' to be a real bore."

Logan just grinned. "Oh, you've still got a class." He hooked an arm around Remy's shoulder and they walked off a bit, letting Fallen go. "See Chuck thinks ya done such a nice job of it, he wants ya to keep right on goin'. Thinks maybe you should pick up a couple more..."

Fallen smiled in amusement as she heard Remy groan in pain and turned the way Seth had gone.

----------------------------

Seth walked into the Med Lab, his arms full of medical goods. Finally here, he was recklessly (for him anyway) walking backwards with his hands full and not really looking where he was going. His goal in coming here was to meet a Siskan, and he found one, just not the one he had intended. Seth cried out in surprise when he collided with another warm body in his path. Everything went flying out of his arms and tumbled to the ground. He crouched down quickly, hoping to catch some of the items before they might break.

"Oh, excusze me!" said a soft and gentle voice behind him. Slender white hands reached around him to assist. "Let me 'elp you, me."

At first Seth was confused, the voice sounded like Remy's, but he'd left the thief behind out in the hallway. When he turned around to look at who had spoken, his eyes met a pair of light green ones looking back at him with playful curiosity. "No, really...it was my fault," he said breathlessly. Seth's glasses had fallen askew and he had never seen such beautiful eyes before. In spite of having been out in the world for eight years, he was still easily mesmerized by new things and was momentarily struck dumb with wonder.

Aiden reached out and adjusted the dangling lenses back on Seth's face. "Why you wear desze, eh? You are much too beautiful to 'ide szuch a facze."

"Th-the light, it's...too..b-bright s-sometimes..." Seth explained numbly, the words rolling around in his mouth like loose marbles. It had been a little while since he'd changed his codes and the sad fact of his weakness to bright light still remained.

As he scrambled for loose boxes, Seth caught a flash of Aiden's tattoo through his half open, brightly floral shirt and realized that in spite of his disbelief in the existence of others, he was having an actual encounter with another of his own kind, a Siskan he had never met before today. When Remy had said there were some friends here from New Orleans and that they were Siskan like himself, the reality of that statement hadn't sunk in until he was confronted with one of those very same creatures right here, right now. A Siskan, real like him. For reasons he couldn't hope to explain, Seth was trembling with nervous excitement at that thought. It held him in place, like a deer caught in a trucker's headlights.

When Seth didn't move, Aiden reached out and gently brushed his cheek, a gesture of playful curiosity. He of course had recognized Seth for what he was immediately. A neophyte 'gram, a Lushna-esk by the tint of his shine. Aiden's well practiced eye pegged Seth as little more than a couple of months old and poorly trained at best, a newbie. Aiden kept waiting for the automatic use of Kundatesh, kept expecting Seth to "read" him but for some strange reason, this charming young creature did no such thing. So instead, Aiden "read" him himself, letting slip a sip of his power to further examine the boy.

The moment Aiden's fingers touched the bright red flush of his face, Seth felt a shock, a surge of some strange power pass through him. It was wonderful and bright and warm and shimmering, powerful as it coursed its way right through him. His body shuddered from the heat of it, shocking him by once again becoming suddenly, instantly aroused. Here it was again, his body betraying him at every opportunity, only this time it was much worse. Worse than that brief moment with Remy only an hour earlier. Seth was overcome with a sudden irrational desire to do anything this man desired, to submit to his every whim, but more than anything, he wanted this stranger take him in his arms and make love to him a thousand times over. The release would be heavenly, the power told him so as it whispered its passionate silky promises in his head, evaporating any and all resistance. His body shivered and ached to be touched all over, every tremble of his body begging for it. He couldn't help a soft cry of distress.

Aiden smiled at him shyly and withdrew his hand. "Aiden isz szorry, leetle one. 'E did not mean to frighten you. It'sz been a long time szince 'e asz met one asz young asz you."

Oh, it was more than that to be sure, but soft spoken little Aiden wasn't going to elaborate. Seth was a surprise on so many levels, Aiden didn't know where to begin. He knew nothing of Seth, it was the data retrieved from his quick scan that suggested to him that Seth was young, fresh from the birthing room if he had to guess. His estimate of two months might have been a bit hasty, Seth was younger than that judging by his shine and the way his body had reacted to the energy he had used to "read" him. Seth was Lushna-esk, there was no doubt of that, one with a powerful talent lying asleep just under the surface. And that in itself was the problem. Aiden's experienced mind could see that Seth was just beginning Shemusk, a kind of Siskan puberty exclusive to the Lushna-esk, and Aiden was left to wonder if anyone here realized it and how much trouble Seth was in.

"Wh-who are you?" Seth stammered, breaking into Aiden's thoughts. He was undone and quivering still. He couldn't stop himself from leaning closer to this interesting newcomer, he didn't want Aiden to leave.

"I am Aiden, me," the Dreamer replied, quick to soothe and console, pleased that Seth was close. He was sorry he had disturbed Seth like this, he didn't expect to see such a new Siskan here or anywhere else for that matter. The art of creation was something he'd thought long lost.

"Y-you came in with F-Fallen a couple of days ago." Seth's voice continued to shake, his tongue unwilling to come back under his control. His body was on fire and he wasn't strong enough to fight it. If this man took him right now, he wouldn't be able to resist. He would go down willingly and do whatever he wanted to please him, anything.

"Yesz," Aiden replied, smiling now. He knew exactly what was going on in the young Siskan's mind even though it was an accident. He knew his power was strong and that it could affect the uninitiated, but he hadn't anticipated Seth's overwhelmed response. It was still hilarious to watch even though it was at poor Seth's expense.

"Wha-what did you do to me...ju-just now?"

Aiden smiled at him. "It isz de Kundatesh. I 'read' you. Aiden isz szorry, me. 'E did not mean to shock you. It isz de way de Sziszkansz get to know one ano'der. You should know disz, of coursze, asz you are one of usz."

Kundatesh was the Siskan word that explained the powerful backwash that was the result of Aiden's empathy. It meant "good feeling". All the empathic Lushna-esk Siskan Courtesans had this intoxicating magic, some stronger than others. Aiden's was quite powerful and he had become the master of it early. He was well trained in its use and could use it to seduce almost anyone. It was also used to "read" other people as he had Seth. He used it all the time to determine someone's mood or condition. It was quite automatic for him and it had been a long time since he had touched anyone as sensitive as poor Seth. He hadn't intended for him to react and fall under his sway so quickly. What confused him was that Kimble had this same gift and had used it on Aiden when they met, yet this timid young Courtesan before him was acting as though this was the first time he'd ever felt a Kundatesh rush. Surely Kimble would have used his power on Seth as well. Aiden had no way of knowing that Seth was actually a small piece of Kimble himself and that such a strong reading wasn't necessary. Kimble could take one look at Seth and know instantly what was on his mind.

"N-no one's ever touched me like th-that b-before," Seth said quickly in his own defense. "K-Kimble n-never touches m-me like that."

"Keemble, yesz..." Aiden mumbled softly, his voice going soft and dreamy. His smile changed and became more wistful as he thought of Kimble, of what they were destined to share if all went according to his dreams. Pulling himself out of his distraction, Aiden brought his attention back to the young Siskan before him. Seth wore no shirt and now Aiden took a good long look at the Mark on Seth's chest. He reached out again to touch it, this time being much more careful of his empathy.

Seth moaned softly as Aiden's fingers touched him again, tracing the wings on the woman there, and was only dimly aware as Aiden's voice came at him again. "Why you 'ave disz Mark, eh? It doesz not belong to you."

"I earned the Sword fair and square," Seth protested, finally getting his mouth working correctly, a monumental achievement considering how out of control the rest of him was. He was still hopelessly aroused and when Aiden's curious fingertips lightly brushed one of his nipples, a particular weakness of his, the young pilot shivered with heat again. "I worked just as hard as Kimble did, maybe more."

Aiden chuckled softly at that, amused by this one's innocence and hyper reactions to even the gentlest of touches. "You are young...and you miszundersztand. What you wear...it could get one szuch asz you kilt juz' for 'aving it. Jael, 'e would murder you asz 'e did my Maszter. For being a fake."

"I am not a fake!" Seth whined sharply, but wilted back into bewildered arousal when he felt Aiden's power touch him again to calm him. "I am not fake," he repeated, softer now.

"Aiden did not mean to szay you are fake. Non, 'e can szee you are quite real. It isz not you, non... not you who isz fake. Juz' ze Szword," the Dreamer explained, his voice growing husky as he came in close, finally kissing him, Aiden's standard greeting.

Seth swooned immediately under the kiss, tasting Aiden's tongue in his mouth, the gel sweetness intoxicating him instantly. He went under far more easily than Kimble had to Aiden's power, he was not even close to defending himself against it. There was some strange magic here, something strange and different, something that called to him deep inside. Something he couldn't resist. Seth moaned again and shivered uncontrollably now, that unsettled part of him that had been awakened from his code-tampering screaming for more. For a lot more than just a simple kiss.

**_/ You are szo pretty, you,_** came a vibration into his head. It was stronger and clearer than anything he had ever felt before. This voice was quite strong, as if Aiden had spoken with his mouth. But that wasn't possible, right? Aiden was using it to kiss him more sweetly and deeply than anyone had ever done. Still that voice was definitely there, speaking to him, **_/ Szo amuszing dat you shake from my szlighteszt touch. I can szee you are szo young, szo new. Your power it'sz only juszt begun. Ze Shemuszk, Aiden can feel it in you. Only one lover you 'ave 'ad, an' dat one? Not quite what you need to make you right again, I'm t'inkin'. Not like me, not a Kintay asz your firszt should 'ave been. What a crime. Oh, ze t'ingsz I could make you feel. What a pleaszure it would be to teach you what it meansz to be Sziszkan. /_**

"Wh-what do y-you want with me?" Seth whispered, a tear leaking out of one eye. He had no idea what Aiden was trying to say, he was all done now, opened wide. Whatever this one wanted, he hoped he would say soon so that he could do it. He would do anything just to be swept away by this strange emotion and be drowned in it. There would be no greater bliss.

Aiden was pleased with the question, overstepping his bounds to boldly offer, "Aiden would love you leetle one, me. Make you shake like not'ing else. Would you like dat?"

"Oh...oh, yes! B-but...b-but..."

"But what, my pretty little t'ing, trembling 'ere?" Aiden asked playfully, reaching out to Seth's face with his fingers again. He couldn't believe his luck, first one new Siskan to explore and love and now this one, too. A Siskan as good as a virgin, one in serious need of some qualified training. Aiden had spent too many years in a sexually free environment for him to even consider the consequences of his actions, he was thinking only of momentary pleasures as he always had. His attraction to Kimble wouldn't inhibit him from quick play with another. For Aiden, the loss of his Master was forgotten at the thought of educating this child, of bringing Seth out of Shemusk and into a brighter, bigger world. Suddenly, things were looking up.

"M-M-Mistress!" Seth finally blurted out. "Sh-she'll be s-so angry!"

Aiden's eyes widened a little in surprise and he instantly retreated. Seth whimpered and cried out from the separation, bewildered. He fell over and caught himself with one hand, propping himself up before he could collapse.

Aiden didn't assist him physically, but sent a vibration of apology and said, "Aiden isz szorry. 'E did not know you belong to anyone like zat. Keemble did not."

Seth groaned, in pain now, and covered his face with the hand that wasn't holding him up. He was much too fragile to withstand such an assault on his senses. He still hadn't recovered from his bad experience with the codes and he was reeling. Aiden felt truly sorry and sent out another vibration, this one more soothing and gentle.

Seth responded gratefully and smiled weakly up at him. "I'm all right. This happens to me all the time. Everything...it's all too much sometimes."

"Aiden playsz wit' you, 'e isz not alwaysz szo fair. Szorry. You are very pretty, you. I'm a fool for a pretty facze, me," Aiden apologized, trying to put Seth at ease. It was true he found Seth intriguing and pretty, but not so much as Kimble. That one...well, hmm. No words could describe the way he felt for Seth's big brother. Perhaps it was just as well this one was taken, his heart was truly already spoken for as it was. He just hoped that others here were as perceptive to Seth's plight and would help him. If not, he might have to take things into his own hands, give them a nudge in the right direction.

Aiden retreated further still and began gathering the boxes Seth had dropped. He paused when a shadow fell over him and he looked up into Fallen's pale blue eyes. Seth's Mistress had arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

(Five)

"Look at this!" Fallen scolded Seth gently. "You really must be more careful!"

"Ze fault isz all mine," Aiden lied smoothly. "It isz no trouble."

"No, he does this all the time," she complained irritably as though Seth wasn't still on his knees next to her. She reached for a couple of boxes and began to stack them. Seth watched her, a frown ruining the lines of his face.

Aiden watched, perplexed, as Seth's shine changed and became cloudy and dark. He understood now that this was Seth's Mistress, realizing his error as soon as he saw her. Of course, he should have remembered. When Remy had visited Trishnar's all those years ago, he had told the story of Fallen and her two Siskans, a tale Aiden had paid close attention to. Aiden now assumed that this pilot was that same Fallen and that she had somehow learned the art of making Siskan Courtesans, a craft he'd thought long lost with the destruction of his home world. This young 'gram in peril here had to be one newly made. That jived with his scan and the way Seth was so shaken by her censure. Seth hadn't given the newcomer his name, therefore Aiden concluded he was brand new and weak.

What added to the mystery was that it was bizarre enough already for Seth's Mistress to be a pilot of all creatures, but it was even more unusual for Seth to be so unhappy to be near her. Seth was clearly angry she had criticized him and she couldn't see it. It must be an affect of being so young and fragile, Aiden surmised. Of course Seth's problems ran much deeper than that, Aiden could see it even if others here did not. Seth was in serious emotional trouble. The thought of Seth's distress saddened the Dreamer, but he was unsure of what to do about it.

It was okay, the solution to Seth's current unhappiness presented itself on its own.

"What's goin' on?" Kimble asked, coming up behind Aiden, his own shine bright and happy. The past couple of days in Aiden's company had lifted his spirits and he was practically walking on air.

"Kimble!" Seth shouted happily and found his feet, jumping up into his brother's open and eager embrace. "You're okay!"

" 'Course I'm okay. Had lotsa good folks watchin' out fer me," Kimble replied, giving his brother a nice big squeeze. He could see Seth's unhappy shine as well as Aiden did, but being Seth's older brother had its advantages, he knew how to fix it. Seth could never resist being held, loving the intimacy as much as he did himself.

"I missed you!" Seth breathed against Kimble's neck. "No one would let me come see you."

"It's all right now. I missed ya, too," Kimble said, his face an open dreamy smile as he looked up into Fallen's face. He was pleased to no end to have his brother again and was thankful Fallen had thought to bring him. Kimble expected his former Mistress to be happy to see him, but he could see now that was far from being true. Seth's being here was an accident, one she wasn't happy about at all.

**_/ Get away from him, you monster!_** she was vibrating. She felt this, yes, but was doing her best not to show it. It didn't stop her hands from clenching or widen the hard, tight line of her mouth.**_ / I'm sorry I ever let you out! I won't let you hurt my Seth! He's mine! You can't have him! You can't break him like you broke yourself!_**

Kimble blanched and took an awkward step back, trying to cover it up with a clumsy smile.**_ / She hates me! She used to love me and now she hates me! It hurts! It hurts real bad!_** he let slip, blinking rapidly to stop his eyes from tearing.

Seth was caught in the middle, bombarded by both sides with his new sensitivity. His Mistress' hatred and Kimble's wounded hurt choked him. He shuddered in misery, squinting as a bright lance of pain stabbed him between the eyes.

"You okay, buddy?" Kimble asked, instantly concerned. He took Seth's head in his hands, tipping his chin up so he could see him better. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Seth lied, turning his eyes away to hide it. "Just a headache." So much for the joyful reunion. He'd planned this event from the moment the possibility presented itself, but now all he wanted to do was go somewhere small and quiet.

Kimble shot Fallen a hard look. He was hurt from her vibrations sure, but of more concern to him now was Seth's state of mind. This wasn't the first time she had scolded Seth for something that wasn't his fault, but it was more than that. He'd been aware on some low level that Seth had been out of sorts lately, even before all this with Mary. He'd put it off as Seth's struggling with the move and the changes just as he himself had. It now looked like things were a bit more serious than that, something that was perhaps his own fault to boot. Between losing custody of Angel and now Seth's tension with his Mistress, the collateral damage from Zander's protective actions just kept rumbling on, spreading its destruction all around.

Fallen met his eye and didn't back down from it. Her dislike of him was still there, not wilting a bit from his direct stare. She reached for Seth to take him away, but Kimble held his brother firm in his hands, not letting him go just yet.

With a regretful, pained smile on his face, Kimble gave Seth a kiss on his forehead and out of habit, automatically released a small sip of Kundatesh to soothe, to take away the pain from his headache the way he'd so often done for Remy.

Seth gasped out loud, he couldn't help it. He'd never complained to Kimble about anything to do with pain before and so his brother had never done this for him. It rocked through him as Aiden's inquiry had done, but was far less powerful. It didn't arouse him, instead it filled him with the weightless euphoria of being truly, deeply, and forever loved.**_ / I loves ya, Seth. I don't wants ya ta ever be in pain,_** the vibration spoke as it blasted away his headache.** _/Never doubt that I loves ya, nuthin' kin ever change that. Nuthin'. /_**

Fallen didn't like Seth's noise and wasn't about to wait for him to explain it. She pulled him away from Kimble and moved him behind her. "It's time for us to go."

"But the supplies!" Seth protested, not ready to leave. Giddy from Kimble's benevolent and affectionate vibration, he wanted only to lie in Kimble's arms again. Kimble had always been there for him, offering brotherly love and support. He felt so foolish now for not having gone to him with his troubles. If anyone could help him through this, it was good ol' Kimble, the one who had seen him through everything else.

"It ain't no problem," Kimble answered, his voice rough from the hard lump in his throat. He knew the score now, knew just what Zander had brought to bear down on him. All he could hope for now was that Seth would feel that vibration and not grow to hate him forever, tainted by the bad vibes of his Mistress. With a thought, Kimble concentrated on the scattered boxes, lifting them all with invisible hands as he used his telekinetic power to collect what was left and arrange it back into a more manageable stack for his brother. His ease with his powers had grown over the years and he was well in control of it, cleaning up a mess like this was snap.

"I could have done that!" Fallen complained, reacting to what she perceived was an unspoken challenge for Seth's affections.

"Yeah, butcha didn't," Kimble replied a little sharp, just enough to let her know he was irritated with her, that he was hurt.

She looked back at him and scowled, not wanting a full out argument out here in the Lab. She said nothing more, but took the boxes in Seth's place and walked away, giving Seth a telekinetic nudge. Seth trailed her, obeying her silent order, his head down and submissive. He felt buffeted and a little sick now, tossed about from all the emotions sloshing around in his head. He grasped onto Kimble's affectionate vibration and it settled him enough to keep him quiet. They went to the back of the room and began putting the stuff away.

" 'E isz very new, him," Aiden commented, still standing behind Kimble and looking the way Seth had gone. He'd been struck numb with wonder at the exchange he'd just witnessed, never had he seen such a bizarre triangle of love and hate. Remy's tale did not include the events that had led to this. Of course he'd heard the story before Kimble had been repaired, before Fallen had time to grow so afraid of the hologram she'd discovered and brought back to life.

What a strange place this was, the Dreamer couldn't help but think. Seth was an infant Siskan owned by a pilot. Kimble was a mature 'gram who wasn't owned by Remy anymore but kinda still was, enough to at least be under his rule. No, Kimble was actually owned by his Angel, a bewildering state of being. Angel was a child, therefore Kimble wasn't even being used by his Mistress. That left Kimble all inside out and lonely, a Courtesan in dire need of one good fuck. No, check that. A few days of decent fucking, and that just for starters. A job Aiden was all too willing to take on, by the by.

Still, all this was perplexing to the newcomer. What the hell was going on? How could all this be? Aiden had never been in a situation where the boundaries were so clearly undefined. The Master owned the Siskan, a creature who lived only to please him, that was all Aiden really knew. He might not agree with the status quo on that, but at least the structure was there so that everyone knew where they belonged, and so did anyone else looking in. He could see now how a fragile young Siskan could begin Shemusk here and not be noticed, nothing here was as it should be.

Trying to work all this out in his mind, Aiden thought to break the tension left by Seth's departure by saying, "Didn' t'ink anyone make de Sziszkansz anymore."

"Fallen made him," Kimble replied, trying to shake off how shitty he felt at that moment. He couldn't believe Fallen's hatred of him. He tried to think back now at the last few times they had been together, had she hated him even then? Was it possible that he'd been so blinded by his own problems that he hadn't felt this from her sooner?

Aiden gave a look of surprise, hoping to get Kimble away from his melancholy thoughts. He forced Kimble to recap and refresh his memory of Remy's tale by asking, "Ze pilot? 'Ow isz disz posszible?"

Kimble was all too happy to oblige him, his shine brightening a little as he explained, "It's kinda complicated. I wuz real broken, smashed. Not even a 'gram really, anymore. She stuck me in her computer an' used me ta help her fly her ship. I wuz all messed up and she made Seth ta help me be one person again. Later on me an' Seth got separated. I got out an' wuz a 'gram again. He got left behind. After a while, she got him out, too, but he ain't like me. He ain't gots no powers and he's real fragile. He don't have all the codes, he ain't finished. He don't see the shines or feel the vibrations none, but he kin have a hard time with folks some. He gits swamped a lot."

Aiden nodded, remembering some of this tale from the story Remy had told his Master years ago. What was perplexing of course was that he had assumed Seth was much too young to be the brother the story had spoken of. Turned out he was mistaken, Seth was closer to nine years old, something that sharply contradicted the scan he'd just made. Perhaps his whole take on things was wrong and Seth was not in Shemusk, but merely damaged, incomplete. It would be a relief, Shemusk was not pretty if left to go too long. But Kimble was mistaken about one thing -- Seth could feel the vibrations. Aiden recalled how quickly Seth had been unnerved by just a simple reading. Aiden wondered how it was that Kimble did not know this, perhaps they were simply too close for Kim to realize it. "Set', 'e isz szwamped by ze Kundatesh all ze time?" Aiden gently probed.

Kimble looked back at him, confused by the word. It sounded vaguely familiar, like something Remy might have said. Gambit had explained about the Kundatesh years ago, but it had been at a time when Kimble was still recovering from the Games Master's repair and not quite straight. As time went by, Remy didn't use the formal Siskan word, he spoke of the power as empathy or simply as the bond between the pilot and himself. "What?"

"Not'ing," Aiden replied quickly, shaking his head a little in perplexed confusion. He could see now that Kimble had never been formally or properly educated in this power, something exasperating. He wondered now just how much Kimble really knew about himself and what he was capable of. It was like Kimble had been living in a bubble, isolated from everything he truly was. What a strange Siskan 'gram, this...and so wonderful. He moved closer, touching Kimble on purpose and the pilot smiled back at him, his eyes glittering with amusement.

Kimble was all too happy to compartmentalize the wounding Fallen had given him and he now banished it away, giving all of his attention back to the one who could brighten his ugliest thoughts just by being near. The growing attraction between them was so powerful, it could almost be seen as a real thing, obvious to anyone who spent more than a few minutes in their company.

Seth certainly noticed it, even as far away as the back of the room. He had looked up from his labor for a moment, still trying to quietly recover from the Kundatesh coaster he'd just tripped on. He saw the way the two of them were standing so close to one another, his brother and the Dreamer.

Aiden was oblivious to the observation, he was back to playing the game. He sniffed at Kimble and grinned when the pilot shivered and lowered his eyes without moving away. Indeed, Kimble took a half step back so he could lean against him a little.

Seth felt a surge of jealousy he didn't want or understand. He hadn't forgotten the message Aiden had sent him in that first vibration of sexual intent. Was it that he would like Aiden for himself, just once? Or was it because he could sense something powerful going on between these two he would never be capable of feeling himself? He loved his pilot Mistress beyond all others and couldn't even contemplate leaving her, but sometimes he could sense there was a much larger world out there, one he had only just begun to explore, but was too afraid of getting hurt to wander out further into. He could see Kimble was responding to the same magic Aiden had used on him, only he wasn't getting blown away by it. In fact, he clearly was getting off on it and wanted more.

Kimble turned to return back to what he was doing before Seth's little spill. He turned into Aiden to go back and raised his chin as he passed so that his mouth passed by Aiden's almost close enough to touch, but not quite. Kimble licked his lips as he did this and left with a smile when he saw Aiden's response. It was a flirtation, a tease, a demand for attention. It was Aiden's turn now to shiver and show his want. Aiden didn't have a prayer of hiding such a powerful desire and didn't even try.

Seth trembled where he stood and a perplexed look creased his brow. He had never really seen Kimble at play like this. Kimble played games with him and spent time with him over the years, sure, but Seth hadn't really taken the time to see his brother act like a Courtesan, not like this. Seth never went to the Common Room to see his brother prowl or chase women. He never watched Kimble dance in a crowd to see the way his eyes roamed over them all until he had chosen the one he would pursue that evening. He had certainly never seen his brother actually lay with anyone.

Kimble was hunting now, though. He was prowling and Aiden was the prey. It was like his brother was someone else. Someone big and strong and powerful. A pure sexual animal, full of grace and wonder. Someone capable of the magic Aiden had used and could feel things on a scale Seth would never understand. The thought of it sent a shiver through Seth's very soul and roused him again as Aiden had done.

In all the time Kimble had been here in his life, not once had Kimble made any kind of sexual move towards him, not even when it was just the two of them alone in the system and he could feel Kimble's heart ache in a way he never understood until now. Kimble was his brother, his father, his protector. Never a lover, though his presence could offer Kimble comfort. For one moment, Seth wished just once he could watch his brother at play. What things he could learn, what things could he feel if he were only brave enough to try. He didn't dare. He was a fool for even thinking it.

He didn't understand how Kimble could be so many things at once. A father, a brother, a lover, a broken child, a vicious killer. How was this possible? He knew that lately Kimble was out of sorts, not quite well at times. It was only today that Kimble seemed more like his usual self. Seth had expected the worst after the horrible episode with Mary, but Kimble seemed okay now. It seemed that Aiden couldn't have picked a better time to arrive. Kimble was interested in Aiden and it had revived him, making him revert back to his more playful self.

Fallen bumped him, breaking into his thoughts. "Hey? You okay?"

"Yes, Fallen. I'm fine."

She did not quite believe. There was something in his eyes, something that had been brooding there for a while now. He always looked a little sad and lost, but it seemed worse just now. She tugged on him and pulled him into her arms, giving him a gentle squeeze. He laughed and lay against her, happy now from her vibration of love. Mingled with Kimble's, he couldn't feel any better. He loved her so much. She was his whole life, his everything. How silly of him to want anyone else. Fallen petted him gently and said, "Let's go topside and have lunch outside? You look like you could use a little fresh air."

"That would be great," he replied, staying right where he was. He seldom went outside but always enjoyed it. Everything was fun when it was with her. He opened his eyes and saw Aiden was still there where Kimble had left him. He was watching them rudely, that small smile still there on his lips as if he had known that Seth had been thinking about him and Kimble. He nodded at Seth and sent him another vibration of comfort and apology, one he could feel even though they were pretty far apart now. Aiden withdrew finally then, going the way Kimble had gone.

------------------------------

Aiden found Kimble in the back testing room, doing some light housekeeping. It was quiet and the lab was empty for a moment, a prime opportunity for some play. He could see Kimble was already beginning to brood a little over the exchange that had just taken place and Aiden wasn't about to let it continue.

Kimble looked up at Aiden as he came in and smiled, an unspoken invitation in his eyes. Not one to turn anything down and taking advantage of the privacy, Aiden approached him boldly without speaking. He backed Kimble into a darkened corner, burying his hands in the pilot's rich ebony hair and kissing him with passionate abandon, happy now for this opportunity to play a little with his new friend.

Kimble laughed as they kissed, happy for the attention. His woes were fading fast, replaced by a strong desire to play. He was eager for this, they had been building up to it for a while now. It was a simple guilty pleasure, this fooling around out of sight.

Aiden was just as pleased, happy he'd chosen to pursue Kimble like this. Kimble was a joy to kiss, his touch gentle and very, very receptive. Kimble was ready to do whatever he might want. Curious about his new friend, Aiden released a little of his backwash, just to see how sensitive the pilot would be.

Kimble reacted immediately. He moaned and trembled against the wall, made mad with desire. His hands reached out and gripped Aiden's hips tightly, pulling him against himself and not letting him go. He could sense what Aiden was doing with his power, the way he was using it, and was a bit surprised. He thought he was the only one who had this power, this spell. Remy had it, sure, but it had come from himself. It had taken Kimble a long time to understand what he could do, he was still learning it even now, but had never really mastered it or explored its full potential. He knew he could use it to ease the suffering of others, but had rarely consciously used it to seduce like this. He couldn't control it very well, not like Aiden obviously could. The small taste of it drove him crazy with desire and he wanted more of it. He wanted it now.

Aiden sensed Kimble's reaction to the Kundatesh and was pleased. Kimble wasn't as sensitive to it as others he had met, certainly not as overwhelmed as Seth had been, and this pleased him. It meant that perhaps, when the time came to finish this game, the mutual release of their pleasure waves might not make them stupid. It was an unfortunate thing that Siskan 'grams of their caliber could actually stun and stupify themselves by laying with one another. The Kundatesh blew them away when they climaxed and they would lay still for hours, their eyes glazed over and drool leaking out of their mouths. It was common knowledge that this condition was possibly harmful to the hardware of Siskans, so Aiden was cautious with it, careful not to release too strong a blast when he climaxed.

Kimble writhed against Aiden with shameless want as he surrendered to his deep kisses, making soft moans of pleasure even as his lips were crushed and bruised. His hands slid from Aiden's hips, up under his shirt to touch warm bare skin, their silent pleas demanding more of his attention. He was showing his acquiescence, but at the same time, his eyes were low and his chin down. This told Aiden all he wanted to know about how Kimble wanted to be pleased.

Aiden realized now that Kimble was a blatant submissive even when in play and there was only one way a Siskan became that way, Aiden knew. It was the way of pain and abuse, of forceful handling and breaking. The thought of anyone doing harm to this magnificent creature filled him with anger and frustration. They'd all been abused, treated like trash and it seemed as though that would never end. Well, he was going to show this treasure in his hands that he would receive better treatment here. He could be rough the way Kimble desired, but he could do it with finesse, not with malice. He gripped Kimble's long ponytail and carefully pulled his head back, exposing his neck to be gently nipped and licked. Aiden couldn't help but chuckle softly when he felt the eager response from the pilot.

Kimble had arched his back, grinding his hips against him in an unsubtle outcry that he was more than ready to go all the way with this. Yet still, his eyes were closed, submissive. He was still doing all the asking even though it was Aiden who had initiated this. Kimble wanted to be dominated, he wanted Aiden in charge.

Not getting anything more from Aiden than another soft, patient chuckle, Kimble was forced to vocalize. "Uhnn... fuck me, please!" he wheezed as he trembled uncontrollably. "I wants ya so bad!"

"Non. Not juszt yet," Aiden answered, dragging his tongue across the bright white sweet skin of his neck and tasting the soft sweet Siskan flavor of Kimble's skin. He nibbled there, hard, and laughed when the pilot bucked against him again. "Don' wanna be rushin' disz, usz. When Aiden takesz you --- an' 'e will --- it ain't gonna be in no corner where we gotta be szo quiet, szo careful. Aiden want to 'ear you szing for 'im wit your whole body an' mind, eh? We gonna do disz right, usz. It gonna be 'ard an' faszt, den nize and szlow, undersztand?"

"Please!"

"For disz we muszt be patient."

Kimble snickered softly in spite of his need. "I ain't 'xactly been known fer patience."

"Disz Aiden can szee. Perhapsz den, it will be Aiden who teachesz it to you."

Kimble whimpered and trembled, quieting only when Aiden kissed him again. He was overcome with desire and being slowly driven mad, but this was delicious, so delicious. He had no doubt Aiden would honor his word, he could sense Aiden's desire for him and his tight control of it. This was no endless game with no conclusion like Bruce had tortured him with way back on Cerise. Aiden would take him and it would be like nothing else. Aiden's shimmer was bright like Kristalay's and powerful, it was intoxicating and full of promise.

Aiden slid a curious hand down between Kimble's legs and felt the hardened heat there, checking out what Kimble had to offer under the soft blue pants he was wearing. Kimble whined sharply and his body gave a mighty shudder, he couldn't control it. He was just going to die if Aiden left him like this. He pushed out at Aiden with his mind, purposely sending out an impatient wave of his own Kundatesh without really being able to control it. It was an act of desperation, of his intense need. He wanted Aiden now! "Please...!" he whimpered again.

Aiden shivered with arousal, enjoying what Kimble had released, but he was much too well trained to be swept by it. He was sympathetic to Kimble's plight, yet firm in his resolve. He wanted to do this, but not here, not like this. It would be in a private place, one where he could make Kimble scream with ecstacy and passion and not send an army of alphas stomping in to rescue him. But then again... perhaps he could ease Kimble's suffering just a little, progress to the next stage of the game. Just to see how Kimble would respond. He lowered Kimble's sweatpants a bit and placed the pilot's hands there. "Go on, Aiden won' sztop you."

"No, it ain't the same. It ain't..!" His protest was cut off when Aiden pushed against him and kissed him roughly. Kimble's hands went to work, he couldn't resist. He began to pleasure himself while Aiden kissed him and explored him with quick and nimble hands, brushing his hips and running his fingers through the silky white fur of his thighs.

"Szo szoft disz, yesz. Dat'sz szo nize..." Aiden said in approval. He followed the luxurious fur around Kimble's hips to his buttocks, laughing softly as he slipped a talented and dexterous finger along his crack, fingering his ass.

Kimble was wound much too tightly to last long from such practiced treatment. He whimpered and moaned, his legs shaking and threatening to buckle. When Aiden sensed he was almost ready to let go, he let Kimble have another sip of his power.

It was more than Kimble could withstand. He cried out sharply and climaxed violently with a startled shout, his whole body shaking and tears leaking from his eyes. His legs gave way and Aiden snatched at him with a snicker, not letting him fall even as he glanced at the door to see if Kimble's outcry had been overheard. So far, so good. No one was coming.

Kimble leaned against him, gasping for air and trembling. His head lay against Aiden's shoulder, grateful for the save. He had expected to hit the floor. He couldn't remember the last time he had cum so hard from his own hands. What was it going to be like when Aiden fucked him for real? He couldn't wait to find out.

Aiden chuckled softly, enjoying the game. He pushed Kimble away from him gently, back against the wall. He saw Kimble had made a mess of himself and raised the pilot's hands to his face. He wanted to taste what Kimble had given before it shimmered away. He licked at Kimble's sticky fingers, taking one into his mouth and snickering with amusement when Kimble shuddered and groaned again. "You taszte szo szweet, my preciousz pilot."

The words made Kimble's desire flare up again as if he hadn't just gotten off. "Don' make me waits too long, please...! I wants ya so bad!" Kimble gasped, tears of joy streaming from his eyes. He couldn't believe the intensity of his hunger. He hadn't felt lust on this scale since he first lay with Remy all those years ago. Not since then had he felt this way. It made all those stupid pickups in the Clubs seem like empty wastes of his time. He couldn't image what it would be like to have this one take him all the way, he was certain to be blown away.

Aiden seemed to sense Kimble's thoughts and was pleased. "Don' worry. Aiden will do for you, me. Den you do for 'im, neh?"

"Anything...I'll do anything ya wants," Kimble promised, still overcome. "Just kiss me. Kiss me like ya done before...please!"

Aiden laughed and kissed him, at first a searing kiss, rough with passion, then slowing down to become more tender and loving, a sign of better treatment to come. He was just as trapped as Kimble was, his being on top and in charge of this not withstanding. He was crazy in love and drowning here. This pilot had infected his sensibilities and was making him vulnerable to whole lot of pain and hurting, but at the moment, with Kimble's warm body so close and so eager for him, he just didn't care. He couldn't get enough of Kimble's attention and the thought of having him thrilled him beyond measure. He never wanted this moment to end, this small spot in time where Kimble wanted only him, needed only him. He felt valuable and important in a way he never felt at Trishnar's. Kimble didn't want to share, not in this moment. Kimble was his.

Aiden slid Kimble's pants back up, making sure to fondle and grope him some more as he did so. Kimble's response to his attention was another delightful shiver. Aiden backed away, giving Kimble a freedom he didn't want. He smiled shyly and picked up where Kimble had left off at the housekeeping, as if their quick groping hadn't happened. As if he still didn't have Kimble's intoxicating taste in his mouth or a hard on of his own only just starting to calm itself down. This wasn't the time. He had a feeling to rush this would be a mistake. He wanted Kimble to take him seriously, to understand the depth of his want.

Kimble reluctantly joined him, grabbing a discarded broom. He hadn't wanted to move, hopelessly thinking Aiden would change his mind and come back to him. Aiden's resolve was all too clear, however. He would just have to wait. Kimble wasn't known for his patience but he wasn't going to have his way here. That was all right, he would wait and Aiden would take him, it was just a matter of time.

Aiden smiled when there was a soft rap of knuckles on the doorframe. "Yesz, Remy?"

"T'ought I lost you," Gambit said, the lie as clear as the bemused grin on his face. He had arrived in the Lab just in time to see Aiden follow Kimble through here. The guard had started to give chase, but he had sent the guy off. Knowing the Lab fairly well now, Remy knew there was no way the Siskans could get in trouble in the small testing room... except perhaps with one another. While giving the appearance of guarding them, he'd actually been covering the door, letting them have their private moment undisturbed.

"Jus' doin' some chores," Kimble offered as an excuse.

"Well, it's good dat a Siskan keep busy, n'est ce pas?"

Aiden chuckled at that, but added nothing as he continued to pick up the room.

A nurse poked her head in the door, interrupting anything Kimble might have had to add. "Kimble, your daughter's on the phone."

"Right," he replied and left, letting a happy contented vibration drift over Remy as he passed by.

" 'E's a 'appy boy," Remy commented. "Whatever you done, 'e really needed it."

Aiden nodded, momentarily proud, then asked warily, "Can we talk a bit, neh? While 'e'sz buszy?"

Gambit tensed and braced himself, sensing something in Aiden's tone. Outside, Logan had mentioned in passing that his guards had overheard Aiden having nightmares almost every time the Siskan had slept. He had asked Remy to look into it, to see if he could coax Aiden into talking about what might be bothering him. Perhaps now, Aiden was going to make this easy for him and open up on his own. Remy smiled at him disarmingly, hoping to set the Siskan at ease. "Sure, cher. What you want?"


	6. Chapter 6

(Six)

Aiden moved to a nearby counter and hopped up to sit, getting comfortable. "You been around, but we didn't 'ave much time to talk, usz."

"You been a bit preoccupied," Remy replied, smiling.

Aiden couldn't help but smile in return. "Yesz, disz isz szo. Szo easzy for me, neh?" A pregnant pause, then, " 'Ow long ago you 'ave 'im repaired?"

"Kimble? Coupla months after I seen you. Why?"

Aiden shuddered and closed his eyes.

Remy reached out with Shi'ow-ri, saw Aiden's shine in full. Saw what? A fierce arousal being held in check by a very strong will. Remy could see that for Aiden, the chase was just as important as the final conclusion. He'd held himself back today, all the more to savor what was to come later. Aiden had no plans to string Kimble along, he was just picking his moment. That was all right, the Lab certainly wasn't the best place for a proper tryst and to a point it made Remy glad to sense that, that Aiden's intentions went beyond simple debauchery.

But that was not quite what Remy was seeking from his Siskan friend. No, he wanted to know why Aiden had shivered like that. What else was Aiden feeling? There was more going on here in Aiden's heart — disappointment, sadness, pity, and a great amount of love there for Kimble, far more than Gambit had expected since the pair had only just met. Remy wasn't satisfied with his mental probe and asked, "What's on yo' mind, buddy?"

"Ze repair, it wasz not complete."

"Non. Fallen share Kimble's codes wit Set'. 'E was too broken to fully integrate."

"Set', dat wasz Keemble's bro'der, 'im?"

"Oui. What's goin' on?" Remy repeated, nervous now.

Aiden nodded, considering. "When ze pilot, she find Keemble, was 'e sztill a 'ologram or wasz 'e szleeping?"

"Sleeping?" Remy questioned, trying to get where Aiden was coming from.

"Wasz 'e in hyperszleep, in a traszportation cube or out?"

Remy stepped back. "What you talkin' about? What's hypersleep?"

Aiden's brow crinkled a bit in frustration. Long explanations were never his forte and he could see that Remy knew nothing of hypersleep, something a little complicated. He took a breath and did his best to explain. "When ze Masztersz move usz from plaze to plaze, from one world to ano'der... szometimesz dere isz no szun to charge usz wit, eh? Zey reduce usz to a cube wit a battery. One to keep usz alive. A Sziszkan can be kept disz way a long time."

Ah, Remy nodded here, finally understanding. Hypersleep was some kind of suspended animation. Aiden's previous question about whether or not Kimble was in this state or one like it when Fallen had found him was a question he was never sure of himself. When he had shared Kimble's files, Gambit learned that there was a sixty year gap from when Kimble left Siska to when the Clan had awakened him. That time had never been recovered or explained. Later, Fallen said that when she found Kimble, he was already broken, having been purposely damaged by the Clan after Zander had gone on a murderous rampage. It was unclear what Kimble's exact condition was when Fallen found him, but in a conversation between Remy and Aiden's former Master, Trishnar had surmised that Kimble was found as a gel block cube with an attached battery for his drives, that he was in hypersleep.

"Don't really know if Kimble was dat way or not," Remy answered. "Does it matter?"

Aiden shrugged. "Mebbe. Zey szay a long hyperszleep can make usz crazy becausze we losze too many memory. Keemble szay 'e losze mebbe sixty year or szo in ze black. Dat'sz a long time. Real long."

Remy shifted his feet. "Why you even askin', cher?"

Aiden was soft as he replied, "Ze repair ze Gamesz Maszter make, if it'sz not too good, zen Keemble break again, mebbe."

"Mebbe — but not definitely," Remy offered, wanting to stay optimistic.

Aiden looked up at him, frowning a little as he tried to put these pieces together. "You szay Keeble juszt kilt szomebody. Tell me 'bout it."

Remy told him, explaining briefly about Kimble's four selves and how it was Zander the Punisher who had actually done the deed. Done the deed and then did a fade. So far Kimble had shown no signs of Zander's return or that of any of the others.

"But 'e 'ear ze voiczes?"

"Oui, so 'e say."

Aiden nodded, then asked thoughtfully, "You ever 'ear anyt'ing from Trishnar? After 'e wasz kilt?"

"Non, why would I?"

Aiden thought a moment again before answering with surprising candor, "Aiden wasz broke, too, neh? Ze Gamesz Maszter fix 'im, but it wasz szomeone elsze who finish ze job."

"Really? Do tell," Remy asked with his interest certainly peaked. He'd spent a week at Trishnar's years ago, trying to learn all he could in just that short time. He had been told there that Aiden had been broken severely, perhaps the worst of any Siskan ever made. Babette had suggested he'd had as many as ten fractures, far more than Kimble's four. This knowledge had been tempered by the news that Aiden had been repaired by the father of the Games Master Remy had used with Kimble. Gambit couldn't help but wonder just where this new conversation was going to lead.

Aiden shifted, clearly not comfortable about talking about himself like this. "Aiden wasz broke down 'ard, me-- ain't gonna go into ze 'ow of it --- juszt dat dere wasz of a lot of usz in 'ere, more dan ze Gamesz Maszter could fix on 'isz own."

"How many you 'ave?"

Aiden wouldn't look at him. "Twelve, I t'ink. It wasz a long time ago. My point isz dat blendin' ze codesz iszn't good enough, eh? Not when szome of dosze voiczesz won't lay quiet."

Remy shifted nervously, wanting to know more yet dreading the thought of hearing more bad news. "Who wouldn't keep quiet for you, fils?"

"Don' wanna go into dat, it ain't a concern no more," Aiden replied, but his uneasy stance betrayed a lie in there somewhere. "What mattersz isz dat ze Gamesz Maszter couldn't finish it, szo m' Maszter got 'elp."

"What kind of help?"

"Trishnar, 'e 'ave more Sziszkansz dan juszt usz at ze 'ousze."

Gambit gave an impatient shake of his head. Well, that certainly made sense. When the Games Master had repaired Kimble, he had given Remy a quick tally of who had what. Even then he'd thought the numbers didn't add up. Perhaps now he was just given an explanation for that.

"I don' know where 'e isz, or what Trishnar do wit 'im, but dere wasz disz one Sziszkan, ano'der Rogue like Keemble. 'E wasz a Grey."

"Grey?"

Aiden glanced up at him and smiled again. "Yesz. Don' know 'isz Title, me. Ashair, 'e szay dosze Titles never mean not'ing to 'im."

"Ashair?"

"Ashair. Ash---Ash--- Ash-er," Aiden struggled to say, his damaged Kintay du Lushna-esk mouth not quite cooperating.

"Asher?"

"Yesz. Dat'sz it." A wry smile. "Ashair, 'e wasz szumptin' szpecial. Trishnar call 'im Ze Great Szerenity."

"Why's dat?"

A laugh. " 'E wasz ze only Sziszkan wit a 'old on 'isz temper. Alwaysz 'appy, alwaysz calm. 'Isz Kundatesh very sztrong. Sztrong enough to 'eal ze o'der Sziszkansz if zey broke."

Gambit stood up straight at that. "What did you just say?"

Aiden's eyes took on a certain pleased gleam, he was happy now that he had Remy's full attention. "Ashair can't 'eal ze flesh, but 'e can 'eal ze Sziszkansz. 'E touch usz, usze 'isz power to find all ze broken pieczesz and put zem back toge'der again."

Gambit wanted so much to believe, but it sounded much too good to be true. "Trishnar didn't tell me anyt'ing about dis guy. Why you speakin' of 'im now?"

Aiden shrugged casually but was betrayed by a flash of pain, sympathy for Kimble's plight. "Keemble... you fix 'im szeven, eight year ago? Dat'sz a long time to be 'urtin' ze way we do. Aiden can szee ze break sztill dere. Dat 'e sztruggle wit 'isz pain. Aiden szuffer, too, after ze Gamesz Maszter leave, only not szo long. Trishnar 'ave Ashair zere for Aiden and 'e finish what ze Gamesz Master did not."

"If Trishnar 'ave a Siskan somewhere else, and Jael won dis round of de Game, den wouldn't Asher 'ave to go to 'im?"

Aiden just snorted. "Aiden and Babette did not."

"Oui, you chose to run."

"Dat'sz right, but t'ink on disz. If Aiden choosze, why not Ashair?"

Remy shook his head and brushed a hand through his hair in perplexed frustration. "If Asher ain't 'ere, where would 'e be and how would 'e find us — if 'e even ran."

Aiden scowled. "You do not believe me?"

Remy sighed. He wanted to, but was leery of another false promise. Sure the Games Master had helped Kimble, but it hadn't stuck. It seemed to him that Kimble was doomed to be a perpetual basket case, breaking down and falling apart at the least opportune times. "I really want to, but 'less you got some way of reachin' dis guy, what good does it do to tell me?"

Aiden's shine swirled with a mixture of anger and frustration. "Don' want to szee Keemble szuffer no more, me. Makesz me szick, szeein' what o'der people do to usz!"

Remy sent out a vibration of his sympathy and desire for all the Siskans to be well. "Me too, buddy. Just dere isn't a whole heck of a lot Gambit can do about it 'cept love you all as much as 'e can."

Aiden's shine calmed a bit at that, appreciating Remy's gesture of affection, but he didn't move any closer. "Ashair very wisze. Mebbe 'e find 'isz way to usz."

"P'etetre. Just we gotta 'ave a plan 'til den, neh?" Remy offered, trying to be indulgent. The more he thought of it, the more it sounded like Asher was just some kind of dream. Trishnar would have mentioned him if he were real, Remy was certain of it.

Aiden nodded. "Aiden will take care of Keemble."

Remy arched an eyebrow at that, feelinga kind of possessive anger. Sure he was happy that Kimble and Aiden were feeling each other out, but Aiden had just spoken as if he had something more permanent in mind. Remy doubted Kimble was up to any such thing and the Dreamer for that matter? The boy didn't have a clue about what being Kimble's keeper entailed. "Really? You t'ink it so easy, neh? You been 'ere, what? T'ree whole days? One quick grope an' you t'ink you got Kimble all figured out. Dat's some trick, mebbe you outta let ol' Gambit in on dat one."

Aiden grumbled, his lips pulled back in a contemptuous snarl at Remy's tone. " 'E a Sziszkan, Aiden a Sziszkan. What elsze isz dere to figure out, preciousz?"

Remy took a step forward, placing himself directly in front of Aiden, boxing him in against the counter top and forcing him to pay attention. He'd hoped to use this opportunity to get around to discussing the Dreamer's nightmares as Logan had requested, but all of those intentions had vanished at Aiden's bold words. This had to be taken care of first. "You listen up, fils. You listen real good. Nobody love Kimble more dan me — nobody! I live wit 'im fo' eight years now and let me tell ya, it ain't been no picnic. Sure, de boy show me some of yo' tricks, take me to a place I ain't never been before, but all dat come with a real big price. Now you ain't no sweetheart y'self. You a stubborn fuck, got a lot more baggage dan dat little ol' backpack you brung up wit you. You sure you can take what Kimble dish out, eh? You real sure, cher?"

Aiden's pale green eyes were as hard as emeralds, glittering back at him in answer to the challenge. "Abszolutely."

Remy just snorted at him. "You ain't got one clue. Kimble, 'e got a real nice laugh, eh? It de best t'ing, like medicine fo' a dyin' man. You been 'earin' a lot of it since you come. Well, you ain't never 'eard nuthin' 'till you 'ear 'im cry. Dere ain't no worse sound."

" 'E cry when 'e t'ink 'isz Anjel wasz in danjer," Aiden replied defensively, thinking of when he'd seen Kimble break down after he'd been told of David's death. It hadn't been pretty, watching that, but it wasn't more than he thought he could handle.

Remy gave him a pained smile. "Quoi? Dat little spat? Dat wasn't nuthin', cher. Just a little taste, eh? Non, dat wasn't no full fledged cryin' jag, no sir. It didn't come wit de accusations of neglect, of 'im bein' left behind, passed over. Non, dat wasn't nuthin' at all. You ain't felt nuthin' 'til 'e look right at you and it's someone else gleamin' in 'is eyes, tellin' you to go take a flyin' leap. 'E can rip you up as fast as as 'e can make your whole body shake like de whole 'ouse comin' down, comprenez?"

Aiden made an arrogant noise. "Zen ze two of usz in good comp'ny, 'im an' me. All you szee isz 'causze of what you **Chuckfet** do to usz."

Remy took another step, invading even more of Aiden's personal space, his red on black eyes burning now. "**Chuckfet**? What's dat!" he demanded although he had a pretty good idea already. He'd heard Aiden use this word before, outside with Kimble when he was talking about the guards. He hadn't understood the word then, but he thought he might now. Shi'ow-ri was whispering rapidly in his head now, speaking of how a Siskan might hate those who had dared to hurt him, those who's bodies were real and so unlike his own.

"Fleshlingsz. You know, ze onez dat are alive," Aiden stammered in response, squirming in his seat now. "Like you."

"Gambit may be alive, but 'e ain't never done nuthin' bad to Kimble! Nuthin'!"

Aiden backed down, shifting his eyes away submissively. He feared Remy's wrath, but it wasn't enough to change his opinion. "You 'ave ze Kundatesh, undersztand more dan moszt, but ----"

"But what exactly, cher? Spit it out of dat big mout' of yours. Go on!" Gambit interrupted, his body vibrating some serious outrage.

"You are **Chuckfet**. Not'ing ever gonna chanje zat."

Remy bristled there, reading Aiden's shine and not liking it. In the short time the new Siskans had been here, Remy had come to realize that Aiden was prejudiced against the organic, apparently even had his own ugly word for it --- **Chuckfet.** Fleshlings, what a stupid term, if not accurate. **Chuckfet ---** might as well say nigger or faggot or mutie, it was only one of a series of ugly words that might come from your average bigot. Bigotry begets bigotry, it was a never ending cycle and here it was in his face again. Still, Gambit couldn't help but be insulted at the thought that he'd been lumped in with a group, any group. From the moment he'd been bonded with Kimble, he'd fought long and hard for Siskan equality and done his best to see that their voice was heard. So much of his time and emotions had been given to that cause, more than he thought most folks would give of themselves. He'd always felt a certain amount of pride about his efforts, that he had earned Kimble's love instead of simply demanded it. To have all that tossed back in face like it meant nothing was more than he could stand.

"You t'ink you so great, eh?" Remy said, letting a vibration of his own contempt drift freely out. "T'ink you can do better dan me? You want a crack at Kimble, fine. You'll 'ave yo' shot — only 'cause I know Kimble's taken wit you. 'E been needin' sumptin' good fo' a while now, mebbe you can do fo' 'im, mebbe not. But I'll tell you dis. You fuck wit 'im, you gotta answer to Gambit, an' believe me, buddy, you ain't got a prayer 'gainst de likes of 'im, cher. Dat's a promise. Still up for it, eh?"

"No problem," Aiden replied, but Remy saw with some satisfaction a swirl of fear and unease there in his shine. This arrogant Siskan was thinking he might have bitten off more than he could chew.

"Well, all right den," Remy replied, leaning in to give Aiden a quick kiss, one that was nothing more than another challenge to seal the deal. This conversation was now over, for better or for worse. The discussion about Aiden's nightmares would have to wait another day. Gambit laughed once and walked out, leaving Aiden to ponder the wisdom of the choice he'd just made.

---------------------

Fallen lay stretched out on the blanket, Seth right up close to her with his face resting gently against her breasts. They lay tangled comfortably, their legs entwined and arms around each other. They had come up for their picnic and the warm air and good food had been Seth's undoing. He lay against her, out cold asleep. They were in the secluded shelter of the Lucky Dragon, someplace they wouldn't be disturbed, but it was still warm here, even out of the sun. She petted her Siskan gently, her mind full of thoughts she would rather do without.

Seth was changing. He wasn't the fragile young child that had been ripped from the sheltered womb of the Lucky Dragon computer system eight years ago. He was maturing and becoming less timid. His appetite for information was voracious and he would spend hours at a time simply reading. Most of what he was researching was impossible for her to understand. He was a technology junkie and well out of her league. He had designed a new Lucky Dragon style shuttle craft and had just received the okay and the funding from the Professor to build it. She had looked over the plans, marveling at his ingenuity and insight. This new Dragon could be flown by the weakest of pilots, perhaps even by a bio-producer as weak as Remy.

It wasn't all good news. She had also noticed that Seth was not as clingy and loving as he had been before that last ugly argument they'd had, the one on the day Kimble had killed Mary. Seth had come to her and offered his submission as he'd always had, but there was a difference now. He was aloof and guarded, something that frightened her. He had Kimble's eyes at times when he looked at her, eyes filled with some kind of trapped emotion she couldn't identify. It was like a mix of hatred and total addictive dependence. He loved her dearly, but seemed to resent it now somehow. She'd seen this same look in Kimble's eyes long ago, before he'd gone mad.

Fallen knew she was partly to blame for this, she had handled that last argument badly. Her own fears were killing her, breaking down their love. It was just that watching Kimble's erratic behavior was so horrifying for her.

Kimble frightened her now in ways she wasn't sure she even understood herself. She had seen the change in him when he'd first been returned to the Institute after he'd been stolen by Sabretooth. Kimble had been living with that evil man and inherited a warped sense of love. He wanted to be beaten, struck until he was bruised, all the while demanding to be raped. His fascination for abuse was disturbing to her, probably because she had lived that life herself for a while with Valentin, an abusive man who would later become her husband. The best thing Valentin had ever done for her was die. Kimble had often cared for her after some of Valentin's savage beatings and now the roles had been reversed -- she was watching Kimble come home from the occasional male lover battered and bruised, a strange contented smile on his face.

Gambit had done his best to get Kimble back on track but nothing ever seemed to stick. Kimble would be good for a while and then Fallen would see him go by, a mess of fresh bruises on his face. He was sullen, angry, sad and withdrawn, then the next day deliriously happy and dancing about. Sometimes he even looked like he was high on something. He would wander about aimlessly as if looking for something he couldn't quite find. That was the Kimble she didn't like, the one she couldn't quite trust. Why couldn't Kimble stabilize? This was the question that forever haunted her. If Kimble couldn't be fully repaired, what fate was in store for her with Seth if he fell apart as Kimble did?

Her only defense was to keep Seth as far away from all of that as possible. She knew Remy did not approve, but what the hell, the Cajun could go fuck himself for all she cared. What she did with Seth was her own business. Her intentions were honorable, she had to protect Seth from the evil outside world. Seth made it easy for her, his academic interests naturally kept him isolated in either the Lab or on the Dragon with his Mistress.

Fallen's ploys had so far worked. Seth labored very hard at his technical games and whims, seeing little of Kimble's antics in madness, although when they did get together, Fallen would catch Seth staring at Kimble with an odd look on his face. Seth would come a little closer to him and Kimble would close his eyes and smile, sensing Seth's desire for him to be well and be his playful old self again. No words would pass, it would just happen. It was like some kind of twin thing, as if a secret existed between them, one she was excluded from. It was creepy and made her nervous with a tension she couldn't quite unload.

Fallen hadn't seen the slaughter of Mary, but had heard about it. It was impossible, she had protested, as mad as he was, her Kimble could never do such a thing. But well over a dozen people had witnessed it, including Remy whom she trusted completely. There was even a recording of it from one of Logan's security cameras. She didn't want to see it played back. When Kimble had been locked up afterwards she hadn't had the courage to go see him. The final straw had been broken and it was like he was stranger now, impossible to understand. Was he still broken? He didn't speak in voices anymore, but was he really only one person? The fear nagged at her. Now he was romping around the lab with his new friend as if hadn't just slaughtered that poor woman only a few days ago.

Aiden worried her as well. He was new to the Complex, but acted as though he was supposed to be here like this. From the very first day he'd arrived, he was all over Kimble and the pilot did nothing to stop it. In fact Kimble was on a high now, the happiest she had seen him in a while. It was like Aiden was manipulating him somehow, changing him even more. She had seen Kimble flirt and play before. It used to be amusing, but not so any more. He was just too spooky now, unpredictable. She didn't know when he was going to freak out next.

Aiden was creepy quiet, a trait that made Fallen all the more aloof. He had this annoying habit of speaking little while watching everything and everyone with an intense kind of scrutiny. He didn't ask many questions, but his eyes were everywhere in an almost predatory fashion, taking in everyone's face. The same spooky wariness that Kimble had at times was constantly there with this one. He seemed to be taking everyone's measure as if he was planning to take them all on someday. Probing them all for weaknesses, yet doing his best to disarm them all with his obnoxious flirtations that drove her up a wall. She had done her best to keep Seth away from him and had succeeded until today. She wasn't happy about the way Aiden had been looking at Seth before and the fact that Seth seemed so curious about him in return.

She knew Seth had explored very little of the world, it had happened deliberately by her own hand. Just the same, she knew it was normal for him to be curious, especially about his own kind. Kimble was safe in that she believed he would never take advantage of Seth. Aiden was altogether different. Siskans were curious, randy, and not known for good impulse control. Gender was meaningless for a true Siskan and Fallen had a feeling that if Seth could be lured into crossing the line, Aiden would sweep him up and blow him away. It would be a game, a thing to pass the time. He would use Seth for his own gratification and then leave him standing there alone, bewildered.

_Admit it, girl,_ she thought to herself, _you can't compete with Aiden on a good day._ _He could_ _show Seth a thing or two you couldn't even dream of._ What if Seth wanted this? She was so afraid he would leave her. _He's Siskan, he won't --- **or would he?**_

Seth stirred restlessly as if sensing her troubled thoughts and squeezed her tightly. He laughed softly, not really awake, and nuzzled at her playfully. Scratch that, he was awake, or at least part of him was. She could feel the hardness of him pushing against her now and she let him play, let him have his way with her. It had been a while since they had a quiet moment like this to play. Seth had been working so hard (_ has he been avoiding me? _) and they just didn't get together like they used to. They had fallen into a routine of comfortability, the passion of new lovers fading into a love that could never be broken. She missed this, she missed him.

In the years since his liberation from the Lucky Dragon's computer system, Seth had grown into a careful and considerate lover. He had found some grace in this area, being properly motivated to practice often. He was very clumsy, crashing into things and being awkward when he moved about in the world, but here, well...he had found a niche. He was so very good, he had gotten that from Kimble at least. Here he could dance and play and not have to worry about getting it wrong. It was always a pleasure to be served by him, he was so very patient and thoughtful. He was never rough or hurtful as Valentin had been. He loved her, she knew it with every careful stroke of his fingers and the gentleness of his kiss.

"I love you so much, Fallen," he whispered and slid her bikini top aside to find a nipple and take it into his mouth.

She shivered, aroused by these simple things he did, but still couldn't get Aiden off of her mind. She had not been as oblivious to the exchange between him and Seth as she had appeared. That parting look he had given Seth before chasing after more available prey made her more than aloof. No one else had ever looked at her Seth that way, like her precious lover was treat to be devoured whole and savored. Would he go after Seth when he was done with Kimble? Would she be able to stop it?

Seth looked up into her face. "You okay?"

She smiled back at him. "Yeah. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No," she replied and gently pressed his head back to her breasts. He went back to what he was doing, forgetting everything else. He wasn't thinking about Aiden, or Kimble, or anyone else, at least not at the moment. The only thing he was concentrating on was her. In spite of the growing tension between them, she was his Mistress and he lived for her. She had been his guiding light from the moment of his retrieval from the Lucky Dragon computer system and he would be lost without her.

Still, he wouldn't deny that he was changing, either. On top of the constant sexual burn glowing deep inside of him, his moods were constantly changing, swaying from hot to cold. He was much more easily frustrated and he found himself having small temper tantrums, choking back the desire to just break and smash things around him. His love for his Mistress and how she used it to keep him in line was a growing ache in his side, yet Seth needed that love to heal the hurts of this new changing. As much as she had upset him, it was her arms he wanted, her kisses. Sometimes his desire for her was so powerful he would just stop in his tracks and shiver, tears coming to his eyes. He would be lost without her, no matter how much his discontent with their relationship was growing. He knew she loved him, that she still wanted him, but her drive to protect him was choking him. He didn't know what to do.

His Mistress wasn't the only one to affect Seth this way. He and Kimble had always been close, always strong in their bond, but there had always been an attractive, seductive air about Kimble, something Seth in his limited knowledge couldn't clearly define. Kimble was fun to be around, a pleasurable presence, and someone Seth couldn't do without. Seth had thought at first it was just part of them being twins, but it was more than that because Remy had it, too. Something that made their hugs more special, their kisses more sweet. It had always been there, but it had become painfully more obvious after he'd played with his codes. Now it was stronger, more alluring. He was being drawn to them somehow, like he just wanted to be with them all day. What he didn't know of course was that his newly awakened empathy was making him that much more aware of the Kundatesh that both Kimble and Remy shared. He was drawn to it and wanted more. Before Kimble had been incarcerated for this latest transgression, Seth made excuses to bump into either of them. If he couldn't manage direct contact, would find himself daydreaming about them, about falling into their arms and just being held and comforted, that it would soothe that ache that was growing inside of him, the one that simply would not go away. That erotic brush with Remy this morning was a prime example of that. Sometimes when Remy would smile at him just so or even the gentle rumble of Kimble's laugh would make Seth shiver with a desire he couldn't understand.

He hated himself for it. He was still uncomfortable about desiring anyone other than Fallen to touch him but it was happening more and more. The sexual thoughts were growing larger and larger in his mind, blocking out other, more constructive things. He figured it was a stress reaction to all of the negative vibrations Fallen was throwing off about Kimble, something he hoped would pass in time. In the meantime, he resented her for those hateful thoughts and so thought of loving another, someone who's vibrations weren't so painful. He never dreamed his desires would go beyond these strange thoughts, it was just a phase, he tried to tell himself. Today's events told him otherwise — as much as the brush with Remy had unnerved him, that near miss with Aiden had been worse. He'd been badly frightened by it, by how easily he'd almost given in.

Fallen seemed to know something was up with him these past few days and she was fighting it, keeping him separated and increasing his discomfort. The more alone he was, the worse this ache seemed to grow. Something was calling him, waking up inside, and he no clue what it was or what to do about it. It frightened him so he said nothing, hoping it would pass.

Out here having their picnic, his world had shrunk down to the just the two of them and he was calmer now, relaxed. Fallen gave him comfort, she was his security blanket and for now, he clung to her like life buoy out in the middle of a vast ocean. Making love now, it was an uneasy truce they had made. Seth swallowed his raging emotions and confusion as best he could. He prayed that her love would be enough to calm the rising tempest inside of him. If it didn't, he had no idea what he was going to do.

------------------------

Many levels below where Fallen and Seth were enjoying their late afternoon lunch and cuddle, the Professor sat at his desk, a perplexed frown on his face. He was at his desk and on the blotter in front of him sat Jael's letter. It had come today with a packet of mail that Fallen had brought from Westchester along with her supplies. It had come in disguise, looking like nothing out of the ordinary when he had first opened it. It now lay open, a threat too real to be ignored.

_Greetings Charles, from a dear friend. I see that you did not take my earlier ultimatum too seriously, so here is another – turn over all the Siskans you have or you will pay for them in blood. Each day you delay will cost you more in lives. It's up to you decide just how high a cost you are willing to pay to keep them. _

_Jael_

Charles closed his eyes and sighed. There was of course, no way he was going to give in to the man's demands. He hadn't changed from the view that anything Jael was willing to kill so viciously for was something that he shouldn't be allowed to get his hands on. That and Xavier wasn't in the habit of giving into the threats of madmen. It was just that the destruction of Trishnar's palace was giving him pause. He had doubts they could withstand such an onslaught here, assuming Jael even knew for sure where they were. Who knew just how bad this was going to get? They would have to be careful and build their defenses as quickly as possible. He only hoped Jael would allow them the opportunity.

To be continued in Decisions.


End file.
